Bali bomb suspect admits role

Mukhlas said only a small group took part in the attacks

The suspected mastermind of last year's attacks on Bali has admitted involvement in the bombings while under oath at another trial.

Ali Gufron, better known by his alias, Mukhlas, was giving evidence at the treason trial of an Islamic cleric, Abu Bakar Ba'asyir.

He said that a small group was involved in the Bali attacks, including himself, and that Abu Bakar Ba'asyir knew nothing of the plot.

"There's no way he would agree to bomb attacks," he said.

Mukhlas said he knew Osama Bin Laden well, although he denied that the leader of al-Qaeda had assisted him in his activities.

I wish all the world could be one Muslim country Bali suspect Mukhlas

He also admitted to being the operations chief for Jemaah Islamiah (JI), a regional militant group agitating for a South East Asian Islamic state.

"What do you know about Abu Bakar Ba'asyir's plans to establish an Islamic state in Indonesia?" Mukhlas was asked.

"I don't know anything about that," he said "but I wish all the world could be one Muslim country."

Two other Bali suspects giving evidence at the trial said that they thought Abu Bakar Ba'asyir could be JI's leader.

Ali Imron, a younger brother of Mukhlas, and accused of having helped assemble the bombs for the Bali plot and to have driven the van that carried them, said JI existed in Indonesia and admitted that he himself was a member.

"Is Abu Bakar Ba'asyir a leader of Jemaah Islamiah?" asked one of the panel of judges.

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"I don't know for sure," replied Ali Imron - "but my feeling is that after the previous leader of Jemaah Islamiah died, Abu Bakar Ba'asyir took over."

Another witness, a man called Mubarok, said he was told by his handler that Abu Bakar Ba'asyir was head of JI.

Abu Bakar Ba'asyir is charged with trying to weaken the Indonesian Government in a bid to turn the country into a hardline Islamic state, but he has not been charged with the Bali incident.

The charges against the cleric relate principally to a wave of church bombings on Christmas Eve 2000, which killed 19 people.

Ali Imron told the court that he himself was involved in the Christmas attacks, but that he had heard nothing to indicate that Abu Bakar Ba'asyir was involved.

He said that a man known as Hambali - who has been named as a suspect in a string of bombings across South East Asia - had ordered the church bombings.

But Ali Imron did confirm that he had met the defendant many times in Indonesia and Malaysia.

Ali Imron said he was sworn in as a member of JI during a meeting in Malaysia in 1991 and undertook to "do whatever Allah orders to the best of my ability".

'Field commander's' evidence

The latest witness to take the stand was Imam Samudra, the alleged field commander of the Bali operation.

He denied any connection with JI, but he did admit he was involved in the December 2000 church bombings on the Indonesian island of Batam near Singapore.

Imam Samudra said Abu Bakar Ba'asyir, 64, had never ordered any bombings and dismissed the cleric as out of touch and boring.

"It's the age of the internet but he still talks about mysticism while Muslims are being slaughtered," he said.

The trial was adjourned until 4 June.