Bali executes three nightclub bombers who left 202 dead

THREE Islamic extremists convicted of the 2002 Bali nightclub bombings which killed more than 200 people and left dozens more horrifically maimed have been executed by firing squad.

A spokesman for the Attorney General's Office in Jakarta last night confirmed that Imam Samudra, Amrozi Nurhasyim and Ali Ghufron, pictured, had been shot on the prison island of Nusakambangan just after midnight local time, five years after being found guilty of planning and carrying out the attack in which 202 people died and a further 168 were injured.

The double attack on Bali's Kuta strip on October 12, which consisted of a suicide bomb attack on Paddy's Bar and a massive car bomb outside the Sari nightclub shortly after, thrust Indonesia into the world's spotlight and highlighted the global extent of the "war on terror".

Eighty-eight Australians, 38 Indonesians and 28 Britons were amongst those killed. Most victims were partygoers who inadvertently ran into the second blast after fleeing the first explosion.

Investigations revealed the bombers had intended to wreak even greater carnage. If the explosives had been prepared properly, experts believe none of the 500 revellers in the club would have survived.

The three men, who were tried for the attack in 2003, mounted little defence at their trials and showed no remorse.

In recent months, despite a number of failed pleas for leniency, they also claimed they were looking forward to becoming "martyrs" and said they hoped their executions would trigger revenge attacks by fellow extremists.

In a statement issued by their lawyers before the executions, they said their blood would "become the light for the faithful ones and burning hellfire for the infidels and hypocrites". An open letter written by the wife of one of the bombers and read out by a relative at a news conference stated: "I hope Allah gives the best to them and gives the worst to everyone that inflicted this unfair treatment."

A total of 30 individuals have been convicted in Indonesia for playing a part in the bombing, while the alleged mastermind behind the atrocity, Hambali, is being held by the US authorities at Guantanamo Bay.

Speaking earlier this week, relatives of Britons killed in the blast said they opposed the executions, fearing the punishment would fuel further violence. Susanna Miller, of the Bali Bombing Victims Group, who lost her brother Dan in the attack, said: "Capital punishment for jihadist terrorism seems particularly anomalous to me. It effectively provides a state-sponsored route to martyrdom.

"It would be such a tragedy if it just served to fuel the jihadist cause."

• Thousands of Islamist militants in the UK are actively supporting jihadist activities at home and abroad, according to a leaked Government document.

The secret report, drawn up by the intelligence branch of the Ministry of Defence, MI5 and Special Branch, and obtained by a Sunday newspaper, states that Britain will remain "a high-priority target" for international terrorists aligned with al-Qaeda for the foreseeable future, and warns of a network of extremist cells in the UK, with the main concentrations in London, Birmingham and Luton.