The leadership of both Indonesia and Australia , along with TRC, have been issuing public warnings since June 2005 that intelligence sources had indicated that Jemaah Islamiya (JI) had built bombs and were preparing for an imminent attack (WAR Report). Thus, when the triple suicide bombings exploded in Bali restaurants on October 1, the JI network quickly became the leading suspects. Dr. Azahari Husin and Noordin Top (WAR Report) ? wanted variously for their involvement in the Bali attack of October 2002 , the Jakarta Marriott Hotel bombing in August 2003 , and the Australian Embassy bombing in Jakarta in September 2004 ? are now the subject of the greatest manhunt in Southeast Asia history. According to regional expert and TRC lecturer Rohan Gunaratna, “The JI is the only group with the intention and capability to mount an attack on Bali on such a coordinated level?No other groups can carry out multiple attacks like that.” Azahari has earned the nickname “Demolition Man” for his knowledge of explosives, while Noordin is called “Moneyman” in the regional press as a nod to his ability to raise money and recruit bombers. The cell leaders and three suicide bombers are thought to have been assisted by at least three suspects still at large.

Although JI has come under extreme pressure in recent months following arrests of hundreds of suspects largely disrupting their existing networks, Azahari and Noordin continue planning and executing operations apace. In a remarkably prescient report (link) issued on September 28, 2005, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute speculated that despite the law enforcement successes, violence-prone members would still find a way strike. The study hypothesized that the current environment “might be so restrictive as to force JI into using smaller packages of explosives similar to the London bombings.” That was, indeed, the modus operandi of the coordinated attacks this past weekend.