Bali security to be tightened

DENPASAR – Indonesian police yesterday pledged to beef up security in Bali after last weekend’s deadly bomb blasts, as they hunted for leads in the attacks blamed on Islamic militants.

The promise came amid concern about visitors returning to the tourism-dependent island, hit on Saturday for the second time in three years by deadly extremist attacks. Nineteen people were killed in addition to the three presumed suicide bombers and more than 120 wounded in separate attacks on jam-packed restaurants on Bali, while a series of nightclub blasts in October 2002 claimed 202 lives.No group has claimed responsibility for Saturday’s attacks, but the finger of blame has been pointed at two fugitive Malaysian bombmakers linked to the Islamic extremist group Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), blamed for the 2002 blasts.Police have yet to make any formal arrests in their investigation of the bombings but said they were working round the clock to identify the three attackers and the masterminds behind the blasts.Deputy national police spokesman Sunarko Danu Ardanto said police had so far questioned 94 people, but there was no indication that any were believed to have been involved in the attacks.On Bali’s Jimbaran beach, police lifted the security cordon surrounding the strip where two restaurants were hit but said the area’s eateries would only reopen for business after the installation of high-tech security systems.Police were to set up road checks and a single entry point for the area, install surveillance cameras, conduct body searches and establish a permanent station nearby.The Kuta blast site has yet to reopen, but workers were already busy building a barricade in front of the devastated Raja restaurant in preparation for the reopening of the area.- Nampa-AFPNineteen people were killed in addition to the three presumed suicide bombers and more than 120 wounded in separate attacks on jam-packed restaurants on Bali, while a series of nightclub blasts in October 2002 claimed 202 lives.No group has claimed responsibility for Saturday’s attacks, but the finger of blame has been pointed at two fugitive Malaysian bombmakers linked to the Islamic extremist group Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), blamed for the 2002 blasts.Police have yet to make any formal arrests in their investigation of the bombings but said they were working round the clock to identify the three attackers and the masterminds behind the blasts.Deputy national police spokesman Sunarko Danu Ardanto said police had so far questioned 94 people, but there was no indication that any were believed to have been involved in the attacks.On Bali’s Jimbaran beach, police lifted the security cordon surrounding the strip where two restaurants were hit but said the area’s eateries would only reopen for business after the installation of high-tech security systems.Police were to set up road checks and a single entry point for the area, install surveillance cameras, conduct body searches and establish a permanent station nearby.The Kuta blast site has yet to reopen, but workers were already busy building a barricade in front of the devastated Raja restaurant in preparation for the reopening of the area.- Nampa-AFP