Al-Qaeda blamed for Bali blast
2005-10-01 17:58
Bali - Bombs exploded almost simultaneously Saturday in two tourist areas of the Indonesian resort island of Bali, killing at least 23 people and wounding at least 51 others, police and hospital officials said.
The victims included foreign tourists.
The blasts at Jimbaran beach and a bustling outdoor shopping center in downtown Kuta "were clearly the work of terrorists," police Maj. Gen. Ansyaad Mbai, a top Indonesian anti-terrorism official, told The Associated Press.
Al-Qaeda-linked militants were suspected, a Jakarta-based security analyst said.
Putu Putra Wisada, spokesman at the Sangla Hospital in Denpasar, said 11 dead were taken to the hospital and 38 others were admitted with injuries - eight Australians, two Americans and 28 Indonesians.
A receptionist at the Graha Asih Hospital close to Jimbaran Bay said at least eight bodies were in the morgue, and doctors were treating at least 13 other people.
- SAPA