Jakarta – Indonesian police have, for the first time, accused controversial Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Bashir as being the man behind a series of bombings that have shaken the country since 1999.

"Bombs have exploded everywhere across the country since 1999. They didn't occur just like that, somebody must have planned them," police chief of detectives, General Suyitno Landung Sudjono, said on Friday. "We have strong evidence that Bashir was behind these bombings."

Police had only said in the past that Bashir, 66, the alleged leader of the Al-Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiah (JI) terror group, was involved in the bomb attacks across the country, but never mentioned his role specifically.

Bashir was arrested shortly after the Bali bombings in October 2002, but prosecutors failed to prove his involvement in terror activities. He was re- arrested in April under an anti-terror law which allows detention without trial for six months.

Gen Suyitno said police had many witnesses who would testify that Bashir had planned bombings since 1999. The police submitted new evidence against him to the prosecutor's office earlier this month.

Dozens of bomb explosions have rocked Indonesia since 1999, the most notable being the Bali attacks which killed more than 200 people and the JW Marriott Hotel blast on Aug 5 last year in which at least 12 people died. Investigators have blamed JI for the attacks.

"We have been able to bring over 100 suspects to court. We will use their testimonies against Bashir," said Gen Suyitno.

National police chief, General Da'i Bachtiar, said Bashir would be charged for terrorism. "We have all the evidence we need to charge him with orchestrating terrorist activities," he said.

The cleric's lawyer, Mr Mahendradatta, downplayed the latest allegations, saying that police were making up new evidence.