Sobbing and clutching pictures of loved ones, survivors of the Bali bombings and hundreds of relatives paid tribute Sunday to the 202 people killed, amid warnings that Muslim militants could strike again.

At a Christian service attended by 2,000 people on a limestone escarpment overlooking Kuta Beach, and on the spot where Indonesian Muslim militants blew up two nightclubs exactly a year ago, mourners struggled to make sense of the atrocity.

Surfers paddle away from Kuta beach during sunset after a memorial service for the Bali bombing victims on the beach on Indonesia's resort island of Bali October 12, 2003. [Reuters]

Relatives from Australia and around the world placed flowers, photos and candles to remember their dead in front of the bomb site in the heart of the famous Kuta Beach strip.

Floral wreaths were also stacked up against a stone memorial across the road bearing the names of 202 dead from 22 countries, 88 of them Australians. The Balinese honored their own losses, burning incense and leaving offerings of food.

For many, the emotion of returning to this fabled isle has been raw. There has also been defiance.

"If we hadn't come back they would have won. It goes to show they can't beat the Australian spirit. We'll keep on coming and sticking it up their face," said Jason Madden, 31, who lost seven friends from Perth's Kingsley Cats football team.

Indonesia has blamed Jemaah Islamiah, the southeast Asian militant group linked to al Qaeda, for the worst act of terror since the Sept. 11, 2001, strikes on the United States.

Security experts say it is only a matter of time before Jemaah Islamiah strikes again somewhere in Indonesia.

Ceremonies ended at 11:08 p.m., the exact time a massive car bomb brought holidays to a hellish end one year ago.

Foreign tourists attend a memorial service in Bali, Oct. 12, 2003. The service was conducted Sunday to commemorate the first anniversary of the Bali bombings, which killed 202 people, including 88 Australians. [Reuters]

Hundreds of relatives stood for several minutes to reflect, some on the dirt of the vacant lot that used to be the Sari Club. The only sound was that of muffled weeping.

Sunday was also a day of remembrance in Australia, where flags flew at half-mast to remember the country's 88 victims.

Australian Prime Minister John Howard and senior leaders from Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim country, took part in the Bali memorial service. Up to 800 survivors and relatives were among the 2,000 people present.

Chief security minister Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono vowed to fight terrorism. About 40 people have been caught in connection with the Bali blasts and 20 sentenced, including three to death.

Indonesia has warned that Muslim militants are planning more attacks but insisted the mainly Hindu enclave of Bali is safe.

Heavily armed police and sniffer dogs were on patrol.

"DIABOLICAL MEN"

"These diabolical men and their brand of evil simply have no place in our society. They belong in our darkest dungeons, locked away deep beneath our children's playgrounds. History will condemn them for ever," Yudhoyono told the congregation.

New Zealand Foreign Minister Phil Goff told Reuters that while Jemaah Islamiah had suffered defeats, it was still active.

"It would be foolish to ignore the fact that the organization still exists, is still planning. To keep the world safe, to keep the region safe you have to keep hammering it before it can carry out its next planned attack," Goff said.

In London, 800 people attended a memorial service in the church of St Martin's in the Field for the bomb victims, which included 28 Britons. It was preceded by the release of 202 white balloons.

Attending were the Duke of Kent, representing Queen Elizabeth, Foreign Secretary Jack Straw and Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell together with relatives and survivors.

Muslim and Hindu faith leaders also attended the Christian remembrance service.

In the somber atmosphere of Bali's Garuda Wisnu Cultural Park, about 20 minutes drive from Kuta and bordered by towering limestone blocks, Australian military chaplain Richard Thompson gently urged families at the service to accept their suffering.

The service ended with the singing of "Waltzing Matilda," a much-loved Australian song written in the late 19th century.

Just before sunset, Howard lit candles along with more than 1,000 people on Kuta Beach and watched scores of surfers paddle their boards, laden with floral bouquets, out to sea.

Against the backdrop of the sinking sun, the surfers made a circle with their boards and tossed the flowers into it.

Watching them on the shore were Australians in singlets and shorts, Balinese in traditional costumes and Indonesian Muslims, including women in headscarves.

Indonesia did not make Oct. 12 a national day of remembrance, and President Megawati Sukarnoputri did not come for the ceremonies.

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