Jakarta - Islamist militants involved in the July hotel bombings in the Indonesian capital had planned to launch serial attacks, possibly every month, police said Tuesday. Police said details of the plans were in laptop computer seized from the house where four militants, including most-wanted fugitive Noordin Mohammed Top, were killed in a shootout with police in Central Java this month.
Video found in the laptop showed would-be suicide bombers conducting an exercise in preparation for the July 17 bombings of Jakarta's JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels, which killed nine people and and injuring 53, a police officer said.
"In the previous years, they planned one attack every year, but after the Ritz-Carlton, they had planned serial attacks, possibly once a month," said Tito Carnavian, of the anti-terror police unit.
Police said they believed Noordin was responsible for the hotel bombings and for a string of other attacks since 2003.
Terrorism experts said Noordin was a key financier and recruiter for the Jemaah Islamiyah militant group, blamed for attacks in Indonesia from 2000 to 2003, including the 2002 Bali bombing, but he later formed his own, more violent organization after disagreements with more moderate militants.
