Indonesian religious leaders express concern after suicide bombings

Published: 2005-10-03

DENPASAR, Indonesia (CNS) -- Religious leaders in Bali expressed concern as they condemned the Oct. 1 suicide bombings that killed at least 26 people and injured more than 120 others on the island famed as a center of tourism and Indonesian Hindu culture. "We must strongly condemn the bombing that has hit Bali again. The action of the bombers was uncivilized, and regrettably it has happened in Indonesia, a civilized nation," Bishop Benyamin Bria of Denpasar told UCA News, an Asian church news agency based in Thailand, Oct. 2. Denpasar is the capital of Bali, the island province just east of Java. Hospital officials in Denpasar told UCA News the bombings killed 26 people, and more than 120 others were being treated for injuries in seven local hospitals. The dead and injured included foreigners as well as Indonesians. According to reports, three suicide bombers targeted restaurants in Jimbaran Beach and Kuta, on the south of the island. Kuta is a 25-minute drive from Denpasar, while Jimbaran is a 15-minute drive from Kuta. This was the second deadly attack on Bali in less than three years. A bomb Oct. 13, 2002, killed 202 people, including 88 Australian tourists.

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