Bali bomb suspects linked to al-Qaida

INDONESIA said yesterday it suspected two fugitives linked to al-Qaida masterminded the suicide bombings of crowded restaurants in tourist areas of Bali that killed at least 26 people and injured more than 100.

Its president warned of more terrorist attacks. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said after touring the area: "The terrorists are still looking for soft targets."

He said Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, will do everything it can to prevent another strike.

Maj Gen Ansyaad Mbai, a top Indonesian anti-terror official, identified the two suspected masterminds of the bombings as Malaysians said to be key members of the al-Qaida-linked Jemaah Islamiyah terror group.

They are Azahari bin Husin and Noordin Mohamed Top, he said.

They are accused of orchestrating the 2002 Bali nightclub bombings, as well as attacks in the Indonesian capital in 2003 and 2004. The nightclub bombings, which also struck venues crowded with tourists on a Saturday night, killed 202 people, mostly foreigners.

Saturday's attacks came almost three years to the day after the nightclub bombings. In the latest attacks, three suicide bombers wearing explosive vests set off near-simultaneous explosions in three restaurants.

Mbai said the masterminds were not believed to be among the suicide attackers. The assailants' remains were found at the scenes but have not yet been identified, he said.

"All that is left is their head and feet," he said.

Video footage of one blast showed groups of tourists seated at candlelit tables talking and sipping drinks in the seconds before the explosion. It then shows a bright flash accompanied by a loud bang and gusts of black smoke.

It was not immediately clear if the bombers were included in the death toll. At least one child was killed, a witness said.

One Australian and a Japanese citizen were among those killed, along with 12 Indonesians. Hospital officials were trying to identify the other victims.

The wounded included 49 Indonesians, 17 Australians, six Americans, six Koreans and four Japanese.

Dozens, most of them Indonesian, waited in tears outside the morgue in Sanglah Hospital, near the island's capital Denpasar, for news of friends and relatives missing since the attacks.

The bombings struck two seafood cafes in the Jimbaran beach resort and a noodle and steakhouse in Kuta. Kuta is the bustling tourist centre of Bali where the two nightclubs were bombed three years ago.