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Investigation of Bali Bombings Yields Important Clues


Indonesian officials have revised the death toll to 19 people after three explosions rocked popular tourist areas Saturday on the island of Bali.

In an effort to quickly identify the three suicide bombers responsible for the coordinated attack on crowded restaurants Saturday evening, investigators in Bali released dramatic video of one of the bomb suspects strolling through a café seconds before his bomb exploded.

The video, taken by an Australian tourist, shows the suspect wearing a black backpack. Investigators also released photographs of the bombers' swollen and bruised decapitated heads. The photos are too disturbing to be shown in this report.

Police spokesman Soenarko says he hopes someone can identify the bombers. "By identifying the remains we can speed up the process of identifying the suspects and anything related to them."

Police believe the bombers were recruited, trained and equipped by others and hope that identifying the bombers will lead to the masterminds of the attacks as well as any accomplices who may be hiding on the island.

At least 100 people were injured in the three attacks. Twelve Indonesians, one Japanese and two Australians were among the 19 people killed on Saturday.

The nationalities of the four remaining victims are unknown Mick Keelty of the Australian Federal Police says the bombs are unusual. "The Indonesian national police forensic team has quickly been able to determine the number of bombs involved. What we're working with them on now is the actual make-up of the bomb. They're quite a different bomb to the ones we've seen been used before."

Police believe the bombs were packed with ball bearings to inflict maximum damage over a wide area.

Investigators say all three attackers were fitted with explosive belts. The bombs were believed to be detonated by mobile phone. No group has claimed responsibility for the Bali attacks.

But investigators suspect the bombers are members of the radical group Jemaah Islamiyah, responsible for the 2002 Bali nightclub bombings and other attacks in Indonesia in 2003 and 2004 After visiting the scenes of the attacks Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said this would strengthen his government's resolve in fighting terrorism.

He warned that terrorists could be planning more strikes in the world's most populous Muslim nation. In the Indonesian capital of Jakarta, several thousand police officers have been deployed to guard strategic locations throughout the city.

The U.S. Embassy in Jakarta has warned Americans in Indonesia to take security precautions at all times, particularly during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan which begins this week.

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