2005 Bali bombings The 2005 Bali bombings were a series of terrorist suicide bomb and a series of car bombs and attacks that occurred on October 1 , 2005 , in Bali , Indonesia . Bombs exploded at two sites in Jimbaran Beach Resort and in Kuta away , both in south Bali . The terrorist attack claimed the lives of 20 people and injured more than 100 others . The three bombers also died in the attacks . The explosions . The Indonesian national news agency , ANTARA , reported that the first two explosions occurred at 6 : 50 p . m . local time , near a Jimbaran food court and the third at 7 : 00 pm . in Kuta Town Square . Other reports claim that the blasts occurred at around 7 : 15 p . m . At least 3 blasts were reported . One of the blasts struck Raja ' s Restaurant at the Kuta Square shopping mall in central Kuta . Another two bombs exploded at warung s along the Jimbaran beach , one of which was near the Four Seasons Hotel . These areas are generally popular with Western tourists . Police later said they had found three unexploded bombs in Jimbaran . They had apparently failed to go off after the security forces hastily shut down the island ’ s mobile telephone network following the first blasts . According to Indonesia ' s head of counter - terrorism , Major General Ansyaad Mbai , early evidence indicates that the attacks were carried out by at least three suicide bombers in a similar fashion to the 2002 bombings . The remnants of backpacks and excessively mutilated bodies are believed to be evidence of suicide bombings . There remains also a possibility that backpacks were hidden inside the target restaurants before detonation . Australian Federal Police Commissioner Mick Keelty said that the bombs used appear to have differed from previous blasts in that most deaths and injuries had been inflicted by shrapnel , rather than chemical explosion . A medical officer ' s x - rays showed foreign objects described as " pellets " in many victims ' bodies and a victim reported ball bearings lodged in her back . The bombings occurred the same day that Indonesia cut its fuel subsidies resulting in gas prices rising by 675 % and just two days before the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and 11 days before the third anniversary of the 2002 Bali bombing . The attack came during the school holiday period in some states of Australia , when an estimated 7 , 500 Australians are believed to have been visiting Bali . Casualties . The latest report cites 20 dead and between 101 to 129 injured . Some earlier reports put the number of fatalities at between 26 to 36 people , but those figures have since been lowered . Among those killed are 15 Indonesians , 4 Australians , and a Japanese national , not counting the 3 suicide bombers . The wounded included many Indonesians , mostly Hindus while the rest were 45 Australians , 6 South Koreans , 6 Americans , 4 Japanese , 3 Canadians and 1 Briton . As there were no records at the hospitals or morgues on the locations from where the victims arrived , it is not possible to determine the casualty figures at each blast location separately . Most of the casualties were sent to Bali ' s Sanglah General Hospital , and mostly treated for injuries caused by broken glass . Others were sent to Hospital . As in the 2002 bombings , some of the injured , primarily foreign nationals , were evacuated to medical facilities in Australia and Singapore . The less seriously injured were evacuated to Singapore , while other casualties , among them Australians , Japanese and an Indonesian , were evacuated to treatment in Darwin , Australia aboard a Royal Australian Air Force C - 130 Hercules . Following the 2002 Bali bombings , in which more Australians than any other nationals were killed and injured , and the 2004 bombing of Australia ' s Embassy in Jakarta , the latest attacks received extensive coverage in Australia and were denounced by some officials , such as Federal Opposition Leader Kim Beazley , as an attack on Australians . Prior warnings . Indonesian authorities were expecting such an event , after the Indonesian president warned of more bombings within the country , and the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs ( DFAT ) had issued warnings two days before the event . However , the Australian government claimed that it received no specific prior warning of a terrorist attack being imminent in Bali . Minister Downer also played down any knowledge of specific signs of the potential event , despite the DFAT warning on the last day of September . DFAT warned Australians against non - essential travel to Indonesia since before the 2002 attacks – a warning still in effect . The department advises travellers against congregating in areas popular with Western tourists . In May 2005 , the US State Department issued a travel warning against non - essential trips to Indonesia . The travel warning was last updated January 9 , 2007 . A Philippine security official said that for months intelligence officials in Southeast Asia had received information that the al - Qaeda - linked Jemaah Islamiyah group was orchestrating a major strike , possibly in the Philippines or Indonesia , but were unable to uncover the plot ' s details in time to prevent it . The Australian Broadcasting Corporation ' s National News Radio network reported on October 3 that several Australian tourists had heard rumours about a planned bombing , prompting federal Opposition Leader Kim Beazley to urge the Australian government to form closer intelligence ties with Indonesia . On August 31 , 2005 , one month before the second Bali bombing , terrorists managed to put a partially assembled bomb on the 4th floor of Kuta Paradiso hotel . The bomb passed the security check at the hotel and the security cameras on the hotel were broken . There were no explosives in the bomb . Suspects . The attacks bear the hallmarks of the active terrorist network Jemaah Islamiah ( JI ) , which is believed to be responsible for several bombings in Indonesia , including the 2002 Bali nightclub bombing , the 2003 Marriott Hotel bombing and the 2004 Australian Embassy bombing . Rohan Gunaratna , head of terrorism research at Singapore ' s Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies , told Agence France - Presse that " The only group that has the intention and capability to mount a coordinated and simultaneous attack against a western target in Indonesia is Jemaah Islamiyah . " Although a link to JI has not been confirmed , the bombings were quickly condemned as terrorist attacks by the authorities . Police Major General Ansyaad Mbai , a top Indonesian anti - terrorism official , told the Associated Press that the bombings " were clearly the work of terrorists " . Major General Mbai identified Malaysia n men , already wanted in connection to previous bombings in Indonesia , as the suspected masterminds of the attacks . The chief suspect was Azahari Husin , a member of JI who was an engineering expert and former academic with a doctorate from University of Reading ( late 1980s ) . Husin was nicknamed the " Demolition Man " and was thought to have collaborated with the second suspect : Noordin Mohammed Top , a bomb maker whose wife was sentenced to three years in prison for harbouring him . Azahari was killed in a police raid in November 2005 , while Noordin " has been killed after a lengthy and violent siege , Indonesia ' s police chief said " by " heavily armed counter - terrorism police " on 16 September 2009 . Motivations for the bombings remain unclear . Some , such as the Australian Prime Minister , have suggested the attacks were intended to undermine Indonesia ' s moderate democratic government . Moreover , media organisations have suggested that the attack was planned to correspond with massive fuel price increases in Indonesia , so as to maximise economic and political damage . On the contrary , Dr Sidney Jones , of the International Crisis Group , believes that it was not an attempt to undermine democracy " per se " , but rather an example of jihadist extremism : " I think they very much see the world in a black and white way , us against them , Muslims against infidels . . . [ They see ] that the infidels led by the United States as part of a Christian - Zionist conspiracy are out to persecute and attack and eliminate Muslims around the world , and therefore , [ they ] have to run away . " However , in common with the Prime Minister , Dr Jones believes the attack was indiscriminate and not an attack on Australians " per se " . She suggested Bali was selected as the site of the attacks because there was less chance of Indonesian gangsters being killed , and there was " a chance of getting a few foreigners " . Following the attacks Abu Bakar Bashir , who is alleged to be JI ' s spiritual leader , released a statement from his prison cell , condemning the attack . But he added that the bombings were a sign of God ' s displeasure with the Indonesian government . He said : " I suggest the government bring themselves closer to God by implementing his rules and laws because these happenings are warnings from God for all of us . " In an interview with Scott Atran from his cell in Cipinang Prison , Jakarta , Bashir said : " I call those who carried out these actions all mujahid . They all had a good intention , that is , Jihad in Allah ’ s way , the aim of the jihad is to look for blessing from Allah . They are right that America is the proper target because America fights Islam . So in terms of their objectives , they are right , and the target of their attacks was right also . Investigation . Indonesian police believed that three suicide bombers carried out the bombings . A presidential spokesman Dino Djalal said that the police found a total of " six legs and three heads but no middle bodies , and that ' s the strong sign of suicide bombers . " Photos of the three heads were published in The Jakarta Post on Monday , October 3 , 2005 . Initially , there were conflicting reports on the number of bombs ; but later , the police confirmed only three bombs . An amateur video capturing the scene at the restaurant in Kuta showed one bomber with a backpack walking inside just seconds before a huge explosion . On the following Monday , on October 3 , 2005 , the police issued an appeal to the public for help identifying the suspected suicide bombers whose dismembered remains were found at the scene . Photos of the dead suspects were later distributed widely and a hotline was set up to receive tips . According to Banten Police Chief Senior Commissioner Badrodin Haiti , the Indonesian police are seeking five members of a ring led by Imam Samudra , who has been sentenced to death for his role in the 2002 Bali bombings . Three of the five men had already served jail sentences for holding explosives belonging to Samudra . They were under police surveillance but had disappeared from their homes . On October 9 , 2005 , police in Bali arrested a man , identified by the initials HS , who is allegedly a former roommate of one of the suicide bomber . According to Indonesian police , in 2005 , a corrupt prison warden at the Kerobokan prison smuggled a laptop inside for Imam Samudra , the leader of the terrorist group involved in the first Bali bombing . He then used the laptop and a wireless connection to chat with other terrorist suspects .