Muslim cleric says al Qaeda 'definitely' behind Bali bombing

10.00am

LONDON - A Muslim cleric suspected of links to al Qaeda says he believes the group played a role in the Bali bombings and will carry out similar attacks to combat what he calls American arrogance.

Asked if he thought al Qaeda took part in the Bali bombings at the weekend that killed 181 people, mostly young Westerners, Abu Hamza al-Masri told Reuters: "Definitely".

He declined to elaborate on the basis for his comments but said the Bali bombings were part of a new al Qaeda strategy of hitting a wider range of targets in response to the possibility of the United States attacking Iraq.

"There will be more attacks like this because of American arrogance and Iraq and Palestine," he said.

"The attack was a message for the Indonesian government about tourism (on Bali), which Islam refers to as prostitution and a message for the United States to stop its anti-Islamic action."

The London-based cleric is wanted on terrorism charges in Yemen and is suspected by the United States of links to al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. He is also suspected of helping to try and set up an al Qaeda training camp in the United States.

Masri denies links to al Qaeda but has expressed admiration for bin Laden.

The Egyptian-born cleric said he believed Islamic militant groups were now joining forces with al Qaeda members to carry out attacks against United States and Western interests.

"Some of the people who carry out these attacks were trained in al Qaeda camps or are guided by al Qaeda. This is a new phenomenon. Al Qaeda may not always play a direct role but many of these are followers of al Qaeda," he said.

Masri said on Sunday he and other Islamists had received a message from al Qaeda through an internet site praising last week's attacks on US soldiers in Kuwait and an explosion on a French-flagged oil tanker off Yemen.

"The message praised the Yemen and Kuwait attacks and said that (US President George W.) Bush had lost," he said.

Qatar's al-Jazeera television broadcast on Monday what it said was a statement by bin Laden which had appeared on at least one website, hailing the Kuwait and Yemen attacks.

The statement urged Muslims to wage war against the United States and Israel, blasted Washington for planning to attack Iraq and accused it of trying to rob Arab nations of their riches.

Syrian-born cleric Sheikh Omar Bakri Muhammad, leader of the radical al Muhajiroun group in Britain, said the message vowed attacks would continue.

"These attacks will not stop until the United States leaves the region (Middle East). This is what al Qaeda has said," he told Reuters.

Masri said he believed the Kuwait and Yemen attacks and the Bali bombings had been planned for the first anniversary of the September 11 attacks on the United States but were not carried out because security was too tight.

"It was easier for them to operate later because security had relaxed," he said.

United States President George W Bush on Monday said it must be assumed al Qaeda was responsible for the Bali bombing.

"I think we have to assume it's al Qaeda," Bush told reporters. He said he believed the Bali attacks were part of a pattern that included attacks last week that killed a US Marine in Kuwait and damaged a French supertanker near Yemen.

"Again, I believe that the attack on the French vessel in Yemen is connected with this type of terror, that they're related. I believe that the attack on our Marines in Kuwait reflect the international nature of these cells, these killer cells," Bush said.

He said he did not know whether al Qaeda head Osama bin Laden was alive or dead, despite a report on Monday that bin Laden had hailed last week's attacks in a faxed message to Qatar's al Jazeera television.

- REUTERS

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Feature: Bali bomb blast

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