The religion of peace kills again...

Saturday, October 01, 2005

At least 25 dead as Bali rocked by blasts

CTV.ca News Staff

As many as four near-simultaneous explosions rocked Indonesia's resort island of Bali on Saturday, killing at least 25 people and wounding 50 others, police and local hospital officials said.

It is believed the victims included foreign tourists.

The blasts "were clearly the work of terrorists," police Maj. Gen. Ansyaad Mbai, a top Indonesian anti-terrorism official, told The Associated Press.

El Shinta radio reported that at least three blasts rocked Jimbaran beach, which is lined with seafood restaurants commonly frequented by tourists.

Another explosion is believed to have struck a bustling outdoor shopping centre in downtown Kuta, about 28 km away.

In 2003, suspected militants from the Jemaah Islamiyah militant group attacked the J.W. Marriott hotel in Jakarta, killing 12 people.

The group was blamed in an explosion outside the Australian Embassy that killed 10 in the same year, as well as the 2002 bombings on Bali island that killed 202 people, most of them foreigners.

Last month, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said he was worried that the network was plotting another attack.