Bali bombers' severed heads shown
(CNN.com)
Updated: 2005-10-04 09:49

Police hunting the masterminds behind suicide bombings in Bali that killed 19 people and injured at least 132 others have shown photos of the bombers' severed heads.

Police chief Made Mangku Pastika shows reporters photographs of alleged suicide bombers on Monday.

The weekend attacks -- two at cafes near Jimbaran and one at a restaurant in Kuta's main square -- came just ahead of the third anniversary of the 2002 nightclub bombings that killed more than 200 in Bali.

At a news conference, Bali's police chief, Maj. Gen. Made Mangku Pastika, showed photos of the bombers' dismembered heads in the hope that people would come forward to identify them. The bombers appeared to be in their early 20s.

The chief also showed video of one bomber entering Raja's restaurant in Kuta wearing a backpack and detonating. (Watch amateur video that captured one of the blasts)

Security has been tightened across Indonesia since Saturday's attacks, which targeted tourist hot spots on the island.

The latest attacks killed at least two Australians, one Japanese and four or five other foreigners whose nationalities have not been determined, hospital officials said. The other victims were Indonesian.

Earlier reports put the death toll higher because body parts were entering the morgue in separate body bags, police said.

Among the wounded are 68 Indonesians, 20 Australians, six Koreans, four Americans and four Japanese, with five others unidentified, according to Indonesian Health Minister Siti Fadilah Supari.

Police said they believed that the bombers were not working alone and were searching for those who may have helped plan the attack.

He said the bombs weighed about 22 pounds (10 kg) each and contained ball bearings and other shrapnel.

Maj. Gen. Ansyaad Mbai, a top Indonesian anti-terror official, said the attacks apparently were planned by Southeast Asia's two most-wanted men, Malaysians Azahari bin Husin and Noordin Mohamed Top.

The men are believed to be connected to Jemaah Islamiya, the regional arm of Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda terrorist network.

The two fled from Malaysia to Indonesia after a crackdown on militants following the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States, The Associated Press reported officials as saying.

The latest Bali bombings prompted Jakarta's police chief, Inspector General Firman Gani, to raise the capital's security alert system to its highest level.

The explosions happened around 8 p.m. Saturday (8 a.m. ET) in Jimbaran and Kuta, the shopping and entertainment hub of the island. Foreign Ministry spokesman Marty Natalegawa said the blasts occurred about 10 minutes apart.

Video of the scene in Kuta showed the windows of several upscale stores shattered, with glass littering the street, and the awning of Raja's noodle house blown askew.

Sean Mulcahy, an Australian journalist in Bali, said Jimbaran and Kuta were "chock-a-block" with tourists celebrating a holiday weekend. It was also a school holiday for Australians, and many had traveled to Bali for the weekend, he said.

Bali is still recovering from the bombings in Kuta that killed 202 people on October 12, 2002, which also were blamed on Jemaah Islamiya. Most of those killed were Australian and Indonesian.

"People were just starting to build up confidence again and to have this happen was devastating for the locals, but I think it's the nail in the coffin for people coming to this place," Mulcahy said.

Shortly after the blasts, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono addressed the nation on state television, expressing his concern and condemning what he called a terrorist attack.

"These were clearly acts of terrorism because the victims were indiscriminately chosen and the targets were public areas. As president and on behalf of the Republic of Indonesia, I strongly condemn these inhuman acts," he said.

He said he had received intelligence information in July about terrorist elements in Malaysia and the Philippines planning to target Indonesia and had increased security in Jakarta and Bali as a precaution.

Recently, Yudhoyono issued a warning that terrorist cells inside the country were still active despite hundreds of arrests.

Australian Prime Minister John Howard also expressed sorrow and anger.

"How sad we are that the pursuit of a legitimate, simple overseas holiday has once again been brutally interrupted by this violent, mindless act of terrorism," Howard said.

Noting that the nation was just recovering from the 2002 attacks, he said, "I think we should see this as primarily an attempt to wreak havoc and cause fear and create instability inside Indonesia.

"I primarily see this as an attack on Indonesia and the democratic instincts of the Indonesian people," Howard said.

Saturday's attacks left tourists filled with "fear and terror" and they were fleeing their hotels in Bali with suitcases in hand, Mulcahy said.

But reporter John Aglionby Sunday reported that locals were carrying on with business as normal.

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