Police in Indonesia are hunting down terrorists who have prepared two bombs, and hope to apprehend the suspects before the Oct. 12 anniversary of last year's deadly Bali bombings, the island's police chief said.
Police in the world's most populous Muslim nation have arrested a series of alleged militants in recent weeks, many of whom are suspected members of Jemaah Islamiyah, the al-Qaeda linked group implicated in the Bali attack, which killed 202 people, mostly foreigners.
Major General I Made Pastika, who led the investigation into the twin nightclub bombings, said late Tuesday that officers believed an unspecified number of militants were in possession of two unexploded bombs.
"Our police officers and our Bali bomb investigation team are still working very hard to find out where they are," Pastika said. "Hopefully ... all the people who are going to explode those bombs we can arrest before Oct. 12."
Australia, which lost 88 of its citizens in the Bali blasts, is planning to commemorate the attack with a religious ceremony on the island. The families of those killed in the blasts are invited to the event, which will be attended by Prime Minister John Howard and several Indonesian officials.
Australian Department of Foreign Affairs nevertheless re-issued a travel warning recommending non-essential travel to Indonesia, including the holiday island of Bali, be deferred because the threat to Australians and Australian interests remained high.
"Jemaah Islamiah continue to have the capability and intent to mount attacks in the region. The threat extends beyond the formal commemorative venues and events," the department said in the travel advisory.
"The government is mindful, however, that many of these Australians may judge their attendance at commemorative services to be essential travel, and is supporting family members."
After the bombings, angry Australians demanded to know why earlier travel advice for Indonesia was not as strong as that issued by the US, which urged travellers to avoid crowded bars and restaurants in tourist areas.
But a parliamentary inquiry into the assessment of security threats to Australian nationals in Southeast Asia heard yesterday that the nation's intelligence agencies had no prior warning of the attacks on Bali.
Jemaah Islamiyah has also been blamed for last month's attack on the JW Marriott Hotel in Jakarta that killed 12 people.
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