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| Indonesia executes Bali bombers | Indonesia executes Bali bombers |
| (about 7 hours later) | |
| Three Indonesian Islamic militants condemned to death for the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people have been executed by firing squad. | |
| Imam Samudra, Amrozi Nurhasyim and Ali Ghufron (Mukhlas) were shot at the island prison of Nusakambangan at 0015 (1715 GMT on Saturday), officials said. | |
| They were found guilty of planning twin attacks on nightclubs at the resort of Kuta, popular with Western tourists. | They were found guilty of planning twin attacks on nightclubs at the resort of Kuta, popular with Western tourists. |
| Security forces are on alert across the country amid fears of reprisal attacks. | Security forces are on alert across the country amid fears of reprisal attacks. |
| BALI BOMBINGS Paddy's Bar and Sari Club in the resort of Kuta targeted202 killed from 21 countries, including 88 Australians, 38 Indonesians and 28 BritonsSevere damage within a 100m (150-yard) radius of the bombsMilitant group Jemaah Islamiah blamed for the bombings class="" href="/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7718209.stm">Risk of making martyrs class="" href="/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/2385323.stm">The Bali bombing plotters class="" href="/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/3157478.stm">The Bali bombing plot class="" href="/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/3126241.stm">Timeline: Bali bomb trials | |
| Members of radical groups have gathered to show their respect in the men's villages, where their bodies will taken by helicopter to be buried. | |
| The BBC's Lucy Williamson, in Cilacap, near the prison, says the execution took place in the darkness surrounded by forest and a handful of witnesses. | The BBC's Lucy Williamson, in Cilacap, near the prison, says the execution took place in the darkness surrounded by forest and a handful of witnesses. |
| Later, a spokesman for the attorney-general's office confirmed that the three men had been shot. | Later, a spokesman for the attorney-general's office confirmed that the three men had been shot. |
| "The autopsy results show that all three are dead," Jasman Panjaitan told a news conference. | "The autopsy results show that all three are dead," Jasman Panjaitan told a news conference. |
| "The family members are now bathing the bodies," he added. | "The family members are now bathing the bodies," he added. |
| Haji Chozin confirmed that his brothers, Amrozi and Mukhlas, had died. | |
| Beheading request | |
| The deaths will not evoke much sympathy in Indonesia, where most people supported the sentence and believed the executions should have been carried out much sooner, our correspondent says. | |
| Supporters of the bombers have been gathering in their home villages | Supporters of the bombers have been gathering in their home villages |
| Officials had said the three would be shot in early November but no date had been announced in advance. | |
| The men had apparently requested no autopsy and they had asked not to be buried in state shrouds, but in material brought specially from their family homes. | |
| Since they were sentenced the bombers made several appeals for leniency, and also filed an unsuccessful appeal to be executed by beheading rather that face a firing squad. | |
| They said beheading was a more humane and Islamic form of execution and that being shot amounted to torture. | |
| However, they also said they were keen to be "martyrs" for their dream of creating a South-east Asian caliphate. | |
| The bombings were blamed on the militant group Jemaah Islamiah, widely regarded as a regional affiliate of the al-Qaeda network, but several key suspects have never been caught. | |
| Malaysian Azahari Husin, alleged to be Jemaah Islamiah's top bomb-making expert and to have helped assemble the Bali bombs, was killed by police in eastern Indonesian in November 2005. | |
| Alleged bomb-maker Noordin Mohammad Top and electronics expert Dulmatin, an Indonesian, are still at large. | |
| No remorse | |
| None of the executed men had ever expressed remorse for the attacks, only saying they regretted that Muslims had been killed. | |
| The two explosions killed 202 people, mostly foreign tourists | |
| A last-minute appeal by relatives of the bombers was rejected by a Supreme Court judge earlier this week. | A last-minute appeal by relatives of the bombers was rejected by a Supreme Court judge earlier this week. |
| Some of the victims' families, however, had said they opposed the execution. | |
| Susannah Miller, whose brother was killed, said the deaths would be a "state-sponsored route to martyrdom" which would encourage extremists. | |
| Speaking after the executions, Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said it was "not a day that fills us with any joy or with any celebration". | |
| There were 88 Australians among those who died in the bombings, as well as 38 Indonesians and 28 Britons. | |
| "My first thoughts are for the families of the victims of both the Bali bombings, it's just in my view a terrible reminder of a terrible, horrible event that occurred to family members," Mr Smith said. | |
| Correspondents say that while executing the men has sent a strong message, it could also put the country's hard-won security at risk if it inspires other extremists to carry out similar acts. |