Bali bombings could be prevented

Police warned restaurant owners on the Indonesian island of Bali of the likelihood of terror attacks one month before Saturday's blasts that left 22 dead and injured when suicide bombers detonated devices in Jambaran and Kutah.

Police raised the alarm in Bali - where an attack on a nightclub in October 2002 killed over 200 - after a home-made bomb was discovered in a hotel on the island, Dharamada said.

"If the appropriate measures had been taken in time, Saturday's attacks would probably not have happened," he said, adding that he was "vexed" by restaurant owners on Bali's decision to postpone discussions of stepping up security at the end of the religious festival of Galugan - which ended on Wednesday - four days after the three suicide bombings on the island.

Police are currently hunting five suspects in connection with the bombings. No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks, although it is thought the bombers may be linked to the al-Qaeda associated Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), held responsible for the October 2002 Bali nightclub bombings and various other terror attacks in Indonesia, AKI reports.