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Mourners mark 6th anniversary of Bali suicide attacks

Survivors, relatives and tourists remembered victims of the 2002 Bali nightclub bombings on their sixth anniversary Sunday by lighting candles and laying wreaths in two small but emotional ceremonies on the resort island.

Many of the 100 people who participated in the 45-minute memorial at the site of the bombings, which killed 202 people, were moved to tears. Others were frustrated by delays in plans to execute three Islamic militants found guilty of planning and helping orchestrate the suicide attacks.

"For a long time we considered Bali as the most peaceful place, as a paradise," said Made Mangku Pastika, the former police chief who led investigations into the attacks, saying that after the bombings it "suddenly changed, became hell."

He added, "The tragedy very soon made us realize the dark side of our own lives."

The bombings - carried out by members of the regional militant group Jemaah Islamiyah - thrust Southeast Asia onto the front lines of the war on terror.

Read entire article at International Herald Tribune