The Indonesian government yesterday accused a local Islamic group with links to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda terrorist network of the weekend attack in Bali that left almost 200 dead.
"We are sure al-Qaeda is here," Indonesia's Defence Minister, Mr Matori Abdul Djalil, said. "The Bali bomb blast is related to al-Qaeda with the co-operation of local terrorists."
Indonesian authorities have provided no evidence linking the Jemaah Islamiah group to Saturday's attack and others are more cautious in linking al-Qaeda to the attack. No group has claimed responsibility.
The Australian government for the first time last night linked the bombings to the Islamic group.
"We have some information, particularly from the Indonesians, that there are links to al-Qaeda in this terrorist attack," Australian Foreign Minister Mr Alexander Downer said last night after arriving in Bali.
"We want the Indonesians to bring to justice the people who are responsible for this outrage."
Earlier Mr Downer had described Jemaah Islamiah as "the most dangerous terrorist organisation in south-east Asia" .
Pressure was mounting last night for Indonesian authorities to arrest Abu Bakar Bashir, a fundamentalist Indonesian cleric who lives freely within the country and is thought to be the spiritual leader of Jemaah Islamiya.
Critics argue that Saturday's attack could have been prevented if Indonesia had reacted more strongly to demands from the US after September 11th to crack down on Islamic radicals in the world's most populous Muslim country.
The Indonesian government, led by Mr Megawati Sukarnoputri, yesterday pledged to launch its own "war on terrorism". It said it would seek increased co-operation with international law enforcement agencies, such as the FBI and push for the passage of an anti-terrorism bill that has been languishing for months.
Police chief Gen Da'i Bachtiar said he would welcome technical assistance with the investigation and that help had been offered by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation, Britain's Scotland Yard, and Australian Federal Police.
Indonesia said it would step up security at all foreign diplomatic missions following the blast, the worst terrorist attack since the September 11th attacks on the United States. Security Minister Mr Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono also said security would be intensified around key energy installations.
"There are indications that these energy centres may possibly be targetted by terrorists," he said after a cabinet meeting to discuss the attack."
Indonesians, Japanese, Britons, Swiss, Germans, Swedes, Americans, New Zealanders, French, Ecuadorans, Italians, South Koreans and South Africans were also among the dead or wounded.
The Philippines meanwhile offered to host a regional conference - as quickly as possible - "recognising that the fight against terrorism is not a fight by a single country but a collective effort by all countries," said National Security Adviser Mr Roilo Golez.
The forum would invite representatives from all south-east Asian countries, the US, Australia, Japan and other "countries in the periphery", Mr Golez said. - (Financial Times Service, AFP)