Freed Indonesian militant cleric Bakar Bashir calls terrorists 'holy warriors'

He also criticized U.S. President George W. Bush and Australian Prime Minister John Howard for waging wars against Muslims in Iraq and Afghanistan, and called on them to "convert to Islam."

Photo: Freed Indonesian militant cleric Bakar Bashir calls terrorists 'holy warriors'

Freed Indonesian militant cleric Bakar Bashir calls terrorists 'holy warriors'

"This is the only way for them to save their souls," he told reporters one day after he was released from prison in the Indonesian capital, where he served 26 months for conspiracy in the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people.

He was cleared of more serious terrorist charges, including that he was a key leader of the al-Qaida-linked militant group Jemaah Islamiyah.

Bashir, who has always maintained his innocence, was asked what he thought of the young men who carried out killings in the name of Islam.

He said suicide bombers should still be considered "holy warriors," because they believed they were defending the oppressed. But he said they were wrong to use bombs in a country at peace, the AP reports.