Travelers to Bali are on alert: A terrorist mastermind of the 2002 Bali bombings that killed over 100 Australian and American tourists, Umar Patek, was arrested in Abbottabad, the same town where Osama bin Laden was killed. Now, he’s just been extradited from Pakistan back to Bali, Indonesia on Thursday, according to a ranking security official who spoke with the international news media.
Coming on the eve of the 10th anniversary of 911, how this will affect travel safety is uncertain. Muslims in Indonesia strongly disapprove of Patek’s extremist jihad sect, the Ahmadiyah, which is considered deviant by most Muslims and banned in many Islamic countries. Recently, light sentences were given to 12 men caught on video taking part in a frenzied mob attack on Ahmadiyah members, as judges sent a “chilling” message to extremists.
Indonesia's counter-terrorism agency chief Ansyaad Mbai confirmed that Umar Patek had arrived Wednesday under tight security after an overnight flight from Pakistan, and ahead of an expected trial on terrorism-related charges. 'He's been detained at a detention facility... He's a very important suspect. It's hard to rank him but you can say he's a big fish,' Mr Mbai told reporters. Patek is to face trial over two attacks -- the Bali bombings that killed 202 people in Kuta at a nightclub, as well as earlier Christmas Eve church bombings that killed 19 people in 2000, the counter-terrorism chief told the Strait Times.
Details about what Patek was doing in Pakistan with his Filipina wife remain hidden, raising questions about whether he was there to plan an attack with al-Qaida's top operational leaders as the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks loomed over the U.S. His arrest in March was kept very quiet, and US officials have few comments even now. Patek styled himself in camo and headbands, a la Rambo, in staged photos found by investigators.
Indonesia, an island nation of nearly 240 million, has also been plagued by transportation accidents in recent years, including plane and train crashes and even ferry sinkings. Overcrowding and poor safety standards are often to blame.
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