Explosions Rock Island of Bali

Indonesia's police chief says two weekend explosions on the island of Bali are the worst terrorist acts in the country's history. His comments came after two bombs ripped through a pair of nightclubs, leaving at least 187 people dead. Authorities say at least 200 people are still missing.

A third, smaller blast took place at the same time as the others near the U.S. consular office on the island, but no deaths or injuries were reported as a result of it.

On Sunday, U.S. and local intelligence officials linked the attacks to the al Qaeda terrorist network. Though Indonesia's government has previously stated that no terrorist network existed in the country, officials are now publicly acknowledging a terrorist presence for the first time.

President Bush called the bombings cowardly, and added that they were designed to cause terror and chaos in the country. But U.S. officials point out that they may be a sign that al Qaeda's reach is growing. The president sent an FBI team to Indonesia to help in the investigation, and authorities from the U.S. State Department are considering whether to pull out all American personnel from the country.

The blasts closely followed a State Department warning of possible attacks on Americans. U.S. officials said three recent events indicate the work of al Qaeda: an attack on a French tanker in Yemen, the ambush of two marines in Kuwait, and audiotapes of Osama bin Laden and his top lieutenant talking about planned attacks against U.S. interests.

Bali is popular with many international tourists. While most of the victims were Australians, the explosions also took the lives of people from Indonesia, Germany, France, Britain, and the U.S. The country's president, Megawati Sukarnoputri, was expected to convene an emergency Cabinet session on Sunday night to address the attacks.