An Indonesian court has sentenced an Al-Qaeda-linked Islamist militant to a jail term of 15 years over for his role in the 2002 bombings

The terror event in 2002 killed more than 200 people on the resort island of Bali and left many injured.

The blasts, which came just over a year after the Nine Eleven [9/11] attacks on the United States, ripped through two bars packed with foreign tourists, and remain the deadliest militant assault in Indonesia’s history.

The militant known Zulkarnaen, but whose real name is Arif Sunarso, was a high-ranking member of the Jemaah Islamiyah militant group. He was on trial for the Bali bombings as well as several other attacks carried out by a special unit under his command.

The Judge of the Indonesian court on Wednesday stated that the man “is guilty of committing terrorism and is sentenced to 15 years behind bars”

The 58-year-old Zulkarnaen was on Indonesia’s most-wanted list since the bombings, and evaded the authorities for nearly two decades until his arrest in December 2020.

Prosecutors revealed that Zulkarnaen set up the special Jemaah Islamiyah cell and described him as a “key asset” for the group because of his experience as a trainer at militant camps in Afghanistan and the Philippines.