NEW YORK, Oct 14: The blast that killed nearly 200 people on the Indonesian resort island of Bali is a different type of terrorism from what the Bush administration has campaigned against, and will open a new geographic front, said the New York Times quoting western officials.

The target was not an American embassy, military outpost or financial institution that would represent American power, of the sort that terrorists have attacked in the past. Rather, it was a nightclub whose revellers were mostly Europeans and Australians.

The attack puts intense pressure on the Indonesian government to face the terrorist threat at home more seriously, officials noted.

The outpouring of condemnation of the attack and sympathy for the victims echoes that which followed the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon 13 months ago.

“This will be the event that changes Indonesia’s perception of terrorism like 9/11 did ours,” a senior Bush administration official told the paper.

The paper said that for months, American and Singaporean officials have been saying Al Qaeda cells were hiding in Indonesia. The attack confirms those warnings, which the Indonesian government has until now ignored, Western officials said.

Prime Minister Howard of Australia said, “we would like to see a maximum effort on the part of the Indonesian government to deal with the terrorist problem within their own borders.”

With cold calculation and meticulous planning, including reconnaissance, the bombers chose an unusual target, one that was certain to sow fear far beyond Bali, a Western security analyst in Jakarta told the paper.

It was on a faraway island, primarily populated by Hindus, with a reputation for tranquillity, and popular as a resort with backpackers and the wealthy alike.

“There is a definite terrorist link here,” Senator Richard C. Shelby, senior Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said.