White House press secretary Scott McClellan condemned the bombing in a statement issued in Pennsylvania, where President Bush was campaigning.

"This is yet another attack against civilized people everywhere," the statement said. "We condemn this outrageous act. The president reaffirms our solidarity with the governments of Indonesia and Australia in fighting the global war against terrorism."

Islamic extremists are believed to have tried to influence the outcome of elections elsewhere. They blew up commuter trains in Spain just before elections in March, killing 191 people. Days later, voters elected a Socialist administration that made good on its campaign pledge to withdraw Spanish troops from Iraq.

Australian Prime Minister John Howard has faced criticism over sending troops to Iraq — a decision his opponents say has made Australia more vulnerable to terror attacks.

"This is not a nation that is going to be intimidated by acts of terrorism," Howard said after Thursday's bombing.

Analysts were divided on how the bombing would affect Australia's Oct. 9 election. Howard is considered stronger on national security than Labor challenger Mark Latham — who has pledged to bring the troops home before Christmas — and could benefit from the perception that Australia is under attack.

The bomb exploded shortly after 10:15 a.m. near the embassy gate, flattening a section of the steel fence and shattering windows in nearby buildings.

Police were investigating whether a suicide bomber triggered the blast.

"It was an enormous bomb. The enormity of the crater, the police truck outside has been blown to bits, it's like the wind has been pushed out of you," embassy media officer Elizabeth O'Neill told Australia's Nine TV Network.

Bloodied victims lay sprawled and screaming in front of the embassy, as dazed survivors tried to find colleagues and relatives. A severed leg, human scalp and torso lay on the street among wrecked cars and motorbikes.

"I can't find my family," said one woman, Suharti, who had eight relatives working at the embassy. "I am terrified. I don't know where they are."

The dead included policemen, embassy security guards and passers-by. The wounded were mainly people who worked nearby and were cut by flying glass and debris.

One guard, Muhammad Amsor, said he was about to start work in front of the building when the bomb went off, killing a co-worker. "We have been trained to face bombings like this," he said. "But I am still utterly shocked that it could happen."

At the bomb site, national police chief Gen. Dai Bachtiar said the blast bore the hallmark of Jemaah Islamiyah.