Bali, Indonesia ? To the wild applause of onlookers, an Indonesian court handed down its first verdict in last year’s deadly Bali bombings, sentencing an Islamic militant to die by firing squad for his role in the attacks that killed 202 people.

As a judge read the verdict, the defendant, Amrozi bin Nurhasyim, smiled broadly and thrust out both hands in a thumbs-up sign. Nicknamed the “smiling bomber” for his defiant laughter and cheers during the trial, Amrozi has repeatedly said he wanted to die a martyr.

Survivors of the blasts and relatives of victims burst into tears, cheered and hugged each other in the courtroom. Amrozi appeared undaunted and flashed a grin at the largely Australian crowd, who jeered and shouted at him in anger.

The Oct. 12 Bali bombings, which killed 88 Australians among its victims, were the deadliest terrorist strikes since the Sept. 11 attacks in the United States, and they underscored that Southeast Asia had become a hub for terrorist activity.

The guilty verdict and sentence against Amrozi and other trials in the Bali case have raised fears of revenge attacks by militants.

Tuesday, a car bomb exploded at the Marriott Hotel in Jakarta, killing 10 people and wounding 150. Investigators in that attack suspect the same group blamed for the Bali bombings: Jemaah Islamiyah, a network believed linked to Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaida.

As investigators tried to identify the driver of the explosives-packed van used in the Marriott attack, chief of detectives Erwin Mappaseng said security forces were “intensifying the hunt” for suspected Jemaah Islamiyah members.

“We have pictures of them, and they were involved in the Bali and other bombings,” he told reporters in Jakarta.

Indonesia launched a crackdown against militants after the Bali attacks. Thursday’s verdict likely will be seen as a sign that the government of the world’s largest Muslim nation is willing to act against extremism.

AP Photo Amrozi bin Nurhasyim, one of the key suspects in the Bali bombings, turns to face spectators after judges handed down a death sentence at his trial in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia. In the first verdict in last year's Bali bombings, the Indonesian court Thursday convicted Amrozi and sentenced him to death for the attack that killed 202 people.