At least 60 Dead in Bomb Blasts on Indonesian Bali Island

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Sunday, October 13, 2002

At least 60 Dead in Bomb Blasts on Indonesian Bali Island

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At least 60 people, mostly foreigners, were killed, and some 120 others, also foreigners, seriously wounded in a series of blasts from homemade bombs on Indonesia's resort island of Bali, a police spokesman said early on Sunday.

The wounded people were being treated in area hospitals and clinics, said officials at Sanglah hospital in Denpasar, 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) east of Jakarta.

One of the blasts exploded near the US consulate on the island.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility. But it is askedwhether the explosions in Bali were related to the Manado blast.

Two years ago, a powerful blast in Jakarta killed two people and injured dozens, including the Philippine ambassador to Indonesia.

The blasts come just weeks after the United States reopened itsdiplomatic missions in Indonesia following a shutdown over the September 11 anniversary caused by fears of new attacks by the al-Qaeda network.

The explosion at around 11:00 pm Saturday (1500 GMT) damaged completely both the Padi bar and the Sari Club which has a front garden that is popular with young foreign tourists.

"I believe that the blast was caused by a home-made bomb," an eyewitness said.

Bali, a popular resort island is a magnet for tourists mostly from Europe, Australia and the United States. Until now it has notseen much of the unrest that has troubled Indonesia since the fallof the Suharto regime after the 1997-98 financial crisis.

In the past months, the United States has issued warnings repeatedly that Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation," may be home to al-Qaeda sympathizers."

Senior Indonesian military officials late last month said they believed al-Qaeda "may have a limited network in the country."

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