In central Indonesia, an Islamic school started by the reputed spiritual leader of the region's most feared militant group operates undisturbed by authorities. The group he allegedly inspires has not been outlawed.

Philippines authorities, meanwhile, suspect that members of the same group - al-Qaida-linked Jemaah Islamiyah - could be planning to reopen training camps for Islamic fighters and are busy fundraising in the Middle East for terror attacks.

The Oct. 1 bombings in Bali - the second on the resort island in three years - raises a question: Has the world's most populous Muslim nation done enough to fight Southeast Asia's leading terrorist group?

The implications extend far beyond Indonesian shores. Jemaah Islamiyah has had ideological and financial links with Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida terror group and forms a key part of the global web of Islamic militancy.

''Unfortunately, the most aggressive and arguably most dangerous guys are still on the loose,'' Ken Conboy, a Jakarta-based security expert, said of Jemaah Islamiyah's leadership. ''They still present a significant danger.''

Indonesia's anti-terror effort has come a long way since Oct. 12, 2002, when two bombs at Bali nightclubs killed 202 people - and awoke the country to the threat posed by Jemaah Islamiyah, based here since the fall of the Suharto dictatorship in 1998.

Authorities have moved decisively since then, arresting some 300 terror suspects, shattering Jemaah Islamiyah's network and prosecuting important members - notably its reputed spiritual head, Abu Bakar Bashir.

In addition, Jakarta instituted the death penalty for terrorism, formed a training school for anti-militant security agents and established a government anti-terror unit.

Five terror convicts have been sentenced to death.

''If you look at the last three years, the pattern of arrests by the police and the way they've been able to go after the network has been pretty good,'' says Sidney Jones, a Jemaah Islamiyah expert with the Brussels-based International Crisis Group.

''You can't say that the work hasn't been effective.''

But it hasn't stopped the bloodshed.