On 12 October 2002, three terrorist attacks took place in the tourist district of Kuta on the Indonesian island of Bali. 2 suicide bombings occurred in two popular nightspots in Kuta Beach, the Sari Club and Paddy's Pub, killing a total of 202 people including 151 Western tourists from Australia and Europe as well as 38 local Indonesian residents living or working in businesses or homes around the nightclubs. The blasts injured a further 209 people. It is the deadliest terrorist attack in Indonesia's history.
On 9 November 2005, former Malaysian university lecturer Azahari Husin, a member of Jemaah Islamiyyah and one of the masterminds behind the construction of the bomb, was killed in a police raid in Batu, East Java. Azahari was also believed to be the perpetrator behind several terrorist attacks in Indonesia during the early 2000s. On 9 November 2008, Amrozi bin Nurhasyim, Imam Samudra, and Mukhlas were executed by firing squad at the Nusakambangan prison. On 9 March 2010, Dulmatin, nicknamed "The Genius"—believed to have set off one of the Bali bombs with a mobile phone—was killed in a shootout with Indonesian police in Pamulang, South Tangerang.
At around 11:05 p.m., the explosive-laden van was driven by Ali Imron 12.5 kilometers from an isolated safehouse to Kuta Beach, then handed over to Jimi who would detonate the bomb. The van drove onto Legian Street and parked beside the Sari Club. The parking position of the van created a traffic jam behind it. Ali Imron and Idris exited the van and hopped onto a Yamaha FZ1R motorcycle. They drove to the U.S. Consulate building in the suburb of Renon in Denpasar where they planted the bomb and detonated it using a remote detonator. The explosion injured one passerby and caused minor property damage. Meanwhile, terrorist Iqbal walked into the Paddy's Pub nightclub (sometimes called Paddy's Irish Bar or Paddy's Bar) wearing an explosive-laden vest. He headed to the packed dance floor which had approximately 150 people standing feet from the DJ nearby. He then detonated the vest bomb, killing himself and numerous party-goers. Twenty seconds later, suicide bomber Arnasan detonated the explosives-laden van, killing himself and many tourists and partygoers who had exited the Sari Club to investigate the blast at Paddy's Pub.
The bombing occurred during one of the year's busiest tourist periods in Kuta Beach, driven in part by many Australian sporting teams making their annual end-of-season holiday.
Damage to the densely populated residential and commercial district was immense, destroying neighbouring buildings and shattering windows several blocks away. The car bomb explosion left a one-metre-deep (3.3 ft) crater.
The local Sanglah Hospital was ill-equipped to deal with the scale of the disaster and was overwhelmed with the number of injured, particularly burn victims. So many people were injured by the explosion that some of them had to be placed in hotel pools near the explosion site to ease the pain of their burns. Many had to be flown to Darwin (1,800 km or 1,100 mi) and Perth (2,600 km or 1,600 mi), for burn treatment.
The individuals involved in the attack were:
Amrozi bin Nurhasyim: purchased the Mitsubishi van
Ali Gufron (alias Mukhlas): Amrozi's elder brother who had ordered an attack on Bali's nightclubs, arrested 3 December 2002, executed by firing squad in November 2008
Ali Imron (alias Alik): sentenced to life imprisonment
Johni Hendrawan (alias Idris): planned and executed the attack on the nightclubs which included scouting the location, teaching the other terrorists how to detonate the bombs, and arranging meetings regarding assembly of the bomb
Abdul Aziz (alias Imam Samudra): executed by firing squad in November 2008
Dulmatin: helped build both the car and vest bombs, reported to have allegedly detonated the bomb outside the U.S. Consulate via a remote detonating device
Suranto Abdul al-Ghani: age 34, helped prepare the chemical explosive component of the bombs, escaped with terrorists Abdul and Dedy Mizwar shortly after the explosions, but was later captured and sentenced to life imprisonment
Umar Patek: helped design and prepare the van bomb, sentenced to 20 years imprisonment, released on parole in 2022, started a coffee chain "Rami" in 2025
Feri (alias Iqbal, aged 24): suicide bomber who detonated the explosive-laden vest inside Paddy's Pub
Arnasan (alias Acong, Jimi, or "Iqbal Two", aged 23): suicide bomber who detonated the van bomb outside the Sari Club
Azahari Usin: mastermind behind the creation of the bomb, killed in a police raid in November 2005.