Indonesia blames al-Qa'ida for attack on paradise resort

The Indonesia government yesterday accused al-Qa'ida of carrying out the Bali bombings – adding to growing concerns that the terror network is behind a new wave of attacks.

At the same time, a statement, purportedly from Osama bin Laden, praised the recent assault on US marines in Kuwait and the bomb attack against a French tanker off the coast of Yemen.

While suspicions immediately turned to al-Qa'ida in the aftermath of the nightclub attack, the comments by the Indonesian Defence Minister, Matori Abdul Djalil, are the first from an official to blame the network by name. "We are sure al-Qa'ida is here," he said, after a cabinet meeting in Jakarta. "The Bali bomb blast is related to al-Qa'ida with the cooperation of local terrorists."

Intelligence officials believe the attack may represent the latest in a new wave of al-Qa'ida assaults.President George Bush said it must be assumed that its terrorists were responsible for the explosions. Yesterday Mr Bush described the attackers as "cold blooded killers" and said he would be speaking to Indonesian leader Megawati Sukarnoputri to discuss evidence that al-Qa'ida was behind the blast.

"[We will do] everything we can to disrupt and deny and to bring to justice these people who have no soul, no conscience," he said.

"[The attackers] do not value human life in the same way as we value human life in the civilised world. I will be speaking to Miss Megawati later today and I hope to detect the resolve of a leader who is ready to work together [to tackle the terrorists]."

Last week the US State Department warned that Indonesia was becoming a home to terrorists. After the bombings, the US Embassy in Jakarta said on its website that the attack "comes on the heels of previous warnings of Americans at risk, and highlights the mounting threat to Americans wherever they are in Indonesia".

Ralph Boyce, the US ambassador, said although he could not yet pin the attack on al-Qa'ida, there has been growing evidence that the network has been reaching out to local militants.

The attack came on the second anniversary of the bombing of the destroyer USS Cole off the coast of Yemen, in which 17 sailors died. It also followed recent attacks on Western targets, including the bombing of a French tanker off the coast of Yemen 10 days ago and the attack last week on US marines in Kuwait. One marine was killed after two gunmen, allegedly with links to al-Qa'ida, opened fire with automatic weapons.

Many in the intelligence community appear to believe that an attack of the scale of the Kuta Beach bombing was only a matter of time. One US official with access to daily intelligence reports, told the Washington Post: "This has been coming for a while now. People have been warning of all kinds of attacks."

Adding to the concern about a new wave of attacks has been the flurry of messages from the al-Qa'ida leadership. Last week, Ayman al-Zawahiri, considered Mr bin Laden's deputy, broadcast a message which called on members of the network to carry out attacks on American targets.

Yesterday a statement on the internet, purporting to come from Mr Bin Laden, said the recent attacks sent a "clear and strong message to all enemies and friends alike that holy warriors, with God's help, haven't been weakened by what befell them". It added: "We congratulate our Islamic community on the bold, heroic holy war that was executed by its sons of the faithful holy warriors in Yemen against a crusader oil tanker and in Kuwait against the invading and occupying American troops.

"By exploding the oil tanker in Yemen, the holy warriors hit the umbilical cord and lifeline of the crusader community, reminding the enemy of the heavy cost of blood and the gravity of losses they will pay as a price for their continued aggression on our community and looting of our wealth."

President Bush said he did not know whether Mr bin Laden was alive or dead.

Counter-terrorism officials believe the recent messages are a sign of al-Qa'ida's leadership trying to show to its rank-and-file followers that it is still operational.

The FBI last week issued a warning to state and local law enforcement agencies that a new al-Qa'ida attack on the US has been approved by the network's leadership.