argets: The militants planned to assassinate both U.S. President Barack Obama and Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
Indonesian police said today they had uncovered and foiled a plot to assassinate the president and other top officials, massacre foreigners in Mumbai-style attacks, declare an Islamic state, and possibly even kill Barack Obama.
The attackers planned to launch their assault during this year's Independence Day ceremony.
The ceremoney, on August 17, will be attended by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and the country's top dignitaries, national police chief General Bambang Hendarso Danuri told reporters.The plot also included taking over hotels and killing foreigners, especially Americans, in violence that would have been reminiscent of the 2008 Mumbai attacks, he said.
Plot: Indonesia's National Police Chief Bambang Hendarso Danuri holds a paper picturing terrorist suspects during a press conference at police headquarters in Jakarta, Indonesia today
Intelligence expert Mardigu Wowi Prasantyo, who is close to the police investigation, said books and documents found in the raids suggested the militants planned an attack on Obama, possibly during his visit to Indonesia.
'They did not say it, but this was evident in their books and documents, that the leader of America was their enemy and should be attacked whenever possible,' he told Reuters by phone.
The plot was revealed during interrogations of dozens of suspects arrested since a February raid on a terrorist training camp in the western province of Aceh, Danuri said.
'They were confident that all state officials and dignitaries would be there,' Danuri said. 'Killing all the state officials would have accelerated the transition from a democracy to a state controlled by Islamic Shariah law.'
Some of the newest information on the plot came from a series of raids this week on militant hideouts in and around the capital.
Twenty arrests were made and a supply of assault rifles, ammunition, telescopes and jihadist literature seized.
Five suspected militants were killed in those raids.
Most of those arrested were believed to have trained at the Aceh camp, run by a group called Al Qaeda in Aceh, a new splinter of the Southeast Asia terror network Jemaah Islamiyah.
'If we had not detected them and their military training had been successful, then they would have assassinated foreigners ... as well as police and military posts in Aceh,' Danuri said.
'Their plan was also to launch attacks in Jakarta against foreigners - especially Americans - and attack and control hotels within certain communities, imitating what happened in Mumbai,' he said.
A map of Singapore was found among the militants' possessions, Danuri said.
Mardigu said other suspected targets included President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, police officials, ministers, oil depots and electricity infrastructure, dams, and liberal Muslims, in order to destabilise the government.
'This we know from what they said and also we got from their laptops and documents. As for when, however, we do not know,' Mardigu said.
He added that the information was gathered mostly from documents taken during a series of raids in Solo this week, as well as in Jakarta, Medan, and Aceh in recent weeks.
Obama, who spent part of his childhood in Jakarta, was expected to visit Indonesia in March but delayed his trip until mid-June so he could oversee the passage of the U.S. health bill.
Another intelligence expert told Reuters last year that militants planned to use snipers to attack Obama's convoy during his visit.
In November 2008, a group of young Pakistanis attacked luxury hotels, a Jewish centre and a busy train station in India's financial capital, claiming the lives of 166 people.
Indonesia, which has the world's largest Muslim population, stipulates religious freedom in its constitution. The country has been engaged in a long battle against militant extremist groups.
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