AUSTRALIA: Indonesian police began a nationwide hunt yesterday for al-Qaeda-linked militants blamed for a suicide car bomb attack outside the Australian embassy that jolted both countries ahead of elections, writes Pádraig Collins in Sydney
Australian Prime Minister John Howard said intelligence agencies had warned that those responsible for the attack in Jakarta on Thursday could strike again.
Mr Howard said Indonesian police received a warning demanding the release from jail of Abu Bakir Bashir, the cleric and spiritual leader of Jemaah Islamiah, which has claimed responsibility for the bomb.
The prime minister said, however, the message was not passed on to the Australian authorities until hours later.
"Apparently at 9.30 a.m [local time\] yesterday, the Indonesian police received a message to the effect that if Bashir were not released, western embassies would be threatened with bombs," Mr Howard said.
"The explosion occurred at 10.15 a.m. or thereabouts. I'm informed that news of that message was conveyed to the Australian Federal Police at about 5.49 p.m. [Australian Eastern Time\]."
The prime minister said that while there had been an intelligence failure, there was no intelligence information specifically identifying an attack on the Australian embassy.
"The information they have available indicates that the number of operatives . . . is sufficiently large to support the fear there could be another attack," he said.
The Australian foreign minister, Mr Alexander Downer, toured the shattered embassy in Jakarta and said it was a miracle no Australians had been killed in the attack. - (Additional reporting by Reuters)