SINGAPORE, Sept. 9 (Xinhuanet) -- Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Thursday that the bomb blast outside the Australian Embassy in central Jakarta, Indonesia, shows that terrorism is still a clear and present danger in the region, according to local press reports.

    "It reminds us that terrorism is a clear and present danger in Southeast Asia. We've broken up the (Jemaah Islamiyah) groups in Singapore; in Indonesia, the people who perpetrated the Bali bombings and the Marriott bombings, Amrozi, Mukhlas -- they're in jail, convicted; Abu Bakar Bashir is in jail. But the JI network is still around and intact, as we've been saying for sometime," Lee told Singapore press while attending the royal wedding in Brunei.

    The premier also stressed the need of taking the terrorist threat seriously and rooting out the terrorist network and organization.

    In addition, Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has voicedconcern over the bomb blast in Jakarta, saying that the Singapore Embassy in Indonesia is monitoring the situation closely.

    The powerful explosion in central Jakarta reportedly killed at least eight people, injured 161 others, and caused extensive damage to the Australian Embassy and nearby buildings.

    It is the third major bomb attack in Indonesia in recent years following the powerful bomb explosions took place in the Indonesian resort island of Bali in 2002 and bomb attack on the Marriott Hotel in 2003. Enditem