Al-Qaida-linked fanatics were being hunted in Indonesia tonight after a car bomb blast outside the Australian embassy in Jakarta killed nine people and wounding 160 in a devastating strike on a key US ally in the war in Iraq.

A bomb attack near the Australian Embassy in Indonesia today in which at least seven people were killed may have been the work of a British-trained engineer who has eluded capture for nearly three years, Malaysian security officials said.

An Indonesian court today sentenced a Muslim militant to nine years in jail for aiding the escape of a convicted terrorist involved in the 2002 Bali bombings. He was the 32nd defendant convicted in connection with the attack that killed 202 people.

Rock band Limp Bizkit has cancelled the south-east Asian leg of their world tour over terrorism fears in the region, it was reported today.

An Afghan-trained militant who tearfully apologised to relatives during his trial was convicted and sentenced to life in prison for helping plan and finance the Bali bombings which killed 202 people including 28 Britons.

INDONESIAN police have arrested 13 more people suspected of involvement in a wave of bombings across the country, a police spokesman said.