Islamist Says Sorry for Bali Blast

A key suspect in last October's Bali bombings said yesterday that he was proud of his ability to cause the explosions but now wanted to apologise to the victims' families.

In a bizarre press conference more like a TV chat show than a terrorism investigation, Ali Imron explained how he assembled the three bombs, two of which killed 192 people in the tourist resort of Kuta.

Imron also said that no outside group, such as al-Qaida, had helped in the attack. He claimed that the prime official suspect, the Islamist Indonesian cleric Abu Bakar Ba'aysir, had not ordered the operation but was probably aware of it.

"My capabilities are something to be proud of, but ... they were used for a wrong purpose," said Imron, adding that he learned how to make bombs in Afghanistan.

"In my heart I regret this. I want to apologise to the victims' families in Indonesia and to foreign families," he said.

Imron then explained how he had supervised the assembly of the bombs that blew up Paddy's Bar and the Sari Club.

He said the main bomb outside the Sari club contained about a tonne of explosives.

When asked about outsiders' participation in the attack, Imron said it was not supported by anyone as far as he knew.

"I vow as a Muslim that what happened in Bali was purely from our group. Nobody backed us nor sponsored us."

Investigators believe the operation was planned by Jemaah Islamiyah, a regional network that is alleged to have links with al-Qaida.

But Imron denied that its spiritual leader, Mr Ba'aysir, was actively involved.

"I admit structurally I am under [Ba'aysir's] leadership. But in this case I never followed his orders," he said. "I think he was not involved but I think he knew."