Indonesian police hunting bombers

Prayers have been said for those injured in the blasts

Security has been stepped up on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi following deadly bomb attacks at a market.

Police hunting the bombers set up roadblocks in the town of Tentena, where the blasts occurred within minutes of each other on Saturday.

At least 22 people died and 40 were injured in the attacks.

Tentena lies at the heart of the Poso region, where hundreds of Indonesians have been killed in violence between Christians and Muslims since 1998.

A peace deal was agreed in 2001, but sporadic violence has continued.

Tentena is a predominantly Christian town that has acquired a reputation as being a dangerous area for Muslims, reports the BBC's Tim Johnston in Bali.

However, he adds that there have been tentative attempts at reconciliation over recent months.

More than 80% of Indonesians are Muslim but in certain parts of the country, such as central Sulawesi, there are similar numbers of Christians and Muslims.

Indonesian Vice-President Jusuf Kalla told the BBC that the attacks appeared to be a terrorist operation designed to set Christians and Muslims against each other.

President's pledge

In the capital Jakarta, senior ministers held an emergency meeting and agreed to step up counter-terrorist intelligence gathering, including seeking more information from captured militants.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who is on a tour of the US, Vietnam and Japan to sell his country as a safe destination for foreign investment, vowed to capture those behind the latest bombing.

"I have told the vice-president and senior security minister that if the matter cannot be solved, I will return home," he was quoted as saying by state news agency Antara.

Dozens of armed police had been placed on guard outside 41 churches across the Poso region to protect Sunday Christian services, local government spokesman Harris Ringga told AFP news agency.

In Tentena, religious services were held at a hospital where some of the wounded are being treated.