Suspect Says Bali Bombs Detonated by Cell Phones

In the most detailed testimony yet on the execution of the Bali bombings, a Muslim militant told a court on Wednesday the main blasts were detonated using cell phones in an operation that went off as “scripted.” Ali Imron, who has acknowledged involvement in the attack, also drew bursts of laughter from his elder brother, sitting in the defendant’s chair, when he admitted to a mix of happiness and regret over the October 12 attacks on Indonesia’s most popular tourist resort. Imron was testifying in the trial of Mukhlas, whom prosecutors have accused of being in charge of the Bali operation. Mukhlas, 43, faces death if convicted on charges of plotting, organizing and carrying out terror crimes. Jakarta has alleged Mukhlas is the operations chief of Jemaah Islamiah, a Southeast Asian militant Muslim network it has blamed for the attacks that killed 202 people, most of them foreign tourists. Jemaah Islamiah has been linked to the al Qaeda network. Imron confirmed police and prosecutor statements that one militant who took part in the attack was a suicide bomber, who wore an explosives-laden vest into the popular Paddy’s Bar on the Kuta Beach nightclub strip. A minivan crammed with explosives was also parked outside the Sari Club, just across the road. “The bombing preparation took six days from October 6 to 12,” Imron said, adding he learned how to make bombs in Afghanistan. Full Story