Peru official: Lima bombing tied to Bush visit

A police officer looks at the damage Thursday after a car bomb exploded Wednesday in front of the U.S. Embassy in Lima, Peru.

LIMA, Peru (CNN) -- Peru's interior minister has tied a deadly car bombing near the U.S. Embassy in Lima to this weekend's visit by U.S. President Bush and the September 11 terrorist attacks.

"There's no doubt this is connected to the events of September 11 and the presence of President Bush," Interior Minister Fernando Rospigliosi said Thursday, adding the message of the bombing was for the U.S. president, not Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo.

"After September 11 many, many terrorists groups have been activated all over the world," the interior minister said. "So, this is in direct relation with those international events."

Wednesday night's attack near the embassy killed nine people, wounding many others, and gutting parts of a shopping complex.

Bush, who is due in Peru on Saturday as part of a four-day Latin American trip, said the explosion would not deter his visit.

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"Two-bit terrorists aren't going to prevent me from doing what we need to do and that is to promote our friendship in the hemisphere," Bush said Thursday. "Our neighborhood is important to us. Peru is an important country. You bet I'm going."

Senior officials and Secret Service sources said they were fully confident in the security arrangements in place for the president's visit, but added a new round of consultations with Peruvian officials was under way because of the bombing. At least 7,000 Peruvian security personnel will be on duty during Bush's visit, according to Peru's interior minister.

Ari Fleischer, White House press secretary, told reporters traveling with Bush to El Paso, Texas, "Our security people made an assessment and nothing has been brought to our attention that would make us change our plans."

The car bomb damaged nearby buildings.

There have been no claims of responsibility for the explosion, but before leaving for Texas, Bush indicated the United States had information about who was responsible.

"We might have an idea," Bush told CNN after a meeting with Vice President Cheney. "They have been around before."

Senior administration officials said Bush was speaking of a preliminary belief that the militant left-wing Shining Path guerrilla movement was responsible for the attack.

Peruvian officials say they foiled a planned Shining Path attack on the Lima embassy late last year, and U.S. officials have been concerned about a resurgence of the group, which scarred Peru in the 1980s and 1990s.

The Shining Path -- formed in the 1960s -- has been designated a terrorist organization by the U.S. Department of State.