Bali, Indonesia – Police raised the alert level for Indonesia’s capital and the president warned of more attacks Sunday as a chilling video showed a suspected bomber clutching a backpack and strolling past diners moments before one of three suicide bombings killed 26 people Saturday on Bali.
The near-simultaneous bombings on the resort island also injured 101 people, including six Americans.
The attacks apparently were planned by Southeast Asia’s two most wanted men, who are believed to be connected to an al-Qaeda-linked group, said Maj. Gen. Ansyaad Mbai, a top Indonesian anti-terrorism official.
The alleged masterminds were believed to be Azahari bin Husin and Noordin Mohamed Top, both Malaysians who fled to Indonesia after a crackdown on militants following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, officials said.
The masterminds were not among the suspected bombers, whose remains were found at the scenes, officials said. All three bombers were believed to be wearing belts of explosives, police said.
“All that is left is their head and feet,” Mbai said. “By the evidence we can conclude the bombers were carrying the explosives around their waists.”
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono warned that terrorists could be planning more strikes in the world’s most populous Muslim nation as Jakarta’s police chief put the capital on top alert, with two-thirds of its police force on standby.
“The terrorists are still looking for soft targets,” Yudhoyono said at a news conference after viewing the devastation.
Western and Indonesian intelligence agencies have warned repeatedly that the Southeast Asian terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah was plotting more attacks despite a string of arrests.
Last month, Yudhoyono said the extremists might strike Jakarta during September or October. He explained Saturday that his warning was based on intelligence that the terrorists had already prepared the explosives.
There were no claims of responsibility for Saturday night’s coordinated attacks on two packed seafood cafes in the Jimbaran beach resort and the Raja Cafe noodle and steakhouse in the bustling tourist center of Kuta.
Video footage shot by a vacationer at the three-story Raja Cafe captured a suspected bomber in a black T-shirt walking past foreign and local tourists eating dinner.
The man clutches his backpack, adjusts it slightly, then walks out of view. Moments later, there is an explosion from his direction, followed by smoke and screams.
Suspicion fell on Jemaah Islamiyah, which has been linked to Osama bin Laden’s network and has been blamed for the 2002 Bali nightclub bombings that killed 202 people, mostly foreigners.
