Suicide attacks kill 26, injure 101 in Indonesia

BALI, Indonesia -- Police raised the alert level for Indonesia's capital and the president warned of more attacks Sunday as a chilling video shot the day before showed a suspected bomber clutching a backpack and strolling past diners moments before one of three suicide bombings killed 26 people on Bali.\nThe near-simultaneous bombings on the resort island also injured 101 people, including six Americans.\nThe attacks apparently were planned by Southeast Asia's two most-wanted men, who are believed to be connected to an al-Qaida-linked group, said Maj. Gen. Ansyaad Mbai, a top Indonesian anti-terror official.\nFear of more attacks on tourists prompted Israel to warn its citizens Sunday not to travel to Egypt's Sinai desert during the upcoming month of Jewish holidays, saying it has information that Arab militants planning strikes against Israelis already are located in the resort area.\nThe alleged masterminds of the Bali attacks were believed to be Azahari bin Husin and Noordin Mohamed Top, both Malaysians who fled to Indonesia after a crackdown on militants following the Sept. 11 attacks, officials said.\nThe masterminds were not among the suspected bombers, whose remains were found at the scenes, officials said. All three bombers were believed to be wearing belts of explosives, police said.\n"All that is left is their head and feet," Mbai said. "By the evidence, we can conclude the bombers were carrying the explosives around their waists."\nPresident Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono warned that terrorists could be planning more strikes in the world's most populous Muslim nation as Jakarta's police chief put the capital on top alert, with two-thirds of its police force on standby.\n"The terrorists are still looking for soft targets," Yudhoyono said at a news conference after viewing the devastation.\nThe 101 wounded included 49 Indonesians, 17 Australians, six Americans, six Koreans and four Japanese, officials said.\nWestern and Indonesian intelligence agencies have warned repeatedly that Jemaah Islamiyah was plotting more attacks despite a string of arrests.\nLast month, Yudhoyono said the extremist network might strike Jakarta during September or October. He explained Saturday that his warning was based on intelligence the terrorists had already prepared the explosives.\nThere were no claims of responsibility for Saturday night's coordinated attacks on two packed seafood cafes in the Jimbaran beach resort and the Raja Cafe noodle and steakhouse in the bustling tourist center of Kuta.\nVideo footage shot by a vacationer at the three-story Raja Cafe captured a suspected bomber in a black T-shirt walking past foreign and local tourists who were eating dinner, sipping drinks and chatting at candlelit tables.\nThe man clutches his backpack, adjusts it slightly, then walks out of view. Moments later there is an explosion from his direction, followed by gray smoke and terrified screams. Police said the video, obtained by Associated Press Television News, was part of the investigation.\nSuspicion for the blasts fell on the Southeast Asian terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah, which wants to establish an Islamic state across Southeast Asia and has been linked to Osama bin Laden's terrorist network.\nJemaah Islamiyah has been blamed for the 2002 Bali nightclub bombings that killed 202 people, mostly foreigners, and subsequent attacks on the J.W. Marriott hotel and the Australian Embassy that killed 22. Saturday's blasts occurred nearly three years to the day of the 2002 bombings, which also were in Kuta.\nScores of Jemaah Islamiyah suspects have been arrested in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines and Thailand since 2002, leading some officials to say the group's leadership has been crippled. But analysts say the group appears to have taken on a different form, working with recruits from other organizations or groups.\n"The JI is the only group with the intention and capability to mount an attack on Bali on such a coordinated level," said Singapore-based expert Rohan Gunaratna of the Institute of Defense and Strategic Studies.\n"No other groups can carry out multiple attacks like that"