Indonesians plotted to kill Obama
Captured militants wanted to kill Americans and set up an Islamic state.
Islamic militants arrested in Indonesia appear to have been plotting to assassinate Barack Obama, possibly during a planned trip to the southeast Asian country, according to an intelligence expert close to the investigation.
Police also Friday said the militants were planning to kill Indonesia's president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, and other officials and then declare an Islamic state.
National police chief Gen. Bambang Hendarso Danuri said that the elaborate plot was revealed during interrogations of dozens of suspects arrested since a February raid on a terrorist training camp in western Indonesia.
He said the focus of the plot was to attack an Independence Day ceremony on Aug. 17.
The intelligence expert, Mardigu Wowi Prasantyo, said books and documents found in the raids suggested the militants planned an attack on Obama, possibly during his visit to Indonesia in June.
"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.
Police have arrested and killed several suspected jihadists during a series of raids across Indonesia since February when they discovered a militant training camp in the Sumatran province of Aceh.
Danuri told a press conference on Friday that the Aceh-based militant group had wanted to turn Indonesia into a sharia state.
"They planned to carry out assassinations of U.S. citizens or foreigners in Jakarta or Java," he said.
According to a slide presentation at the conference, the militants had planned the Independence Day attack because they understood that security would not be tight at the ceremony and that officers' weapons would not be loaded with bullets.
Mardigu said other suspected targets included police officials, ministers, oil depots and electricity infrastructure, dams, and liberal Muslims, in order to destabilize 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
Islamic militants arrested in Indonesia appear to have been plotting to assassinate Barack Obama, possibly during a planned trip to the southeast Asian country, according to an intelligence expert close to the investigation.
Police also Friday said the militants were planning to kill Indonesia's president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, and other officials and then declare an Islamic state.
National police chief Gen. Bambang Hendarso Danuri said that the elaborate plot was revealed during interrogations of dozens of suspects arrested since a February raid on a terrorist training camp in western Indonesia.
He said the focus of the plot was to attack an Independence Day ceremony on Aug. 17.
The intelligence expert, Mardigu Wowi Prasantyo, said books and documents found in the raids suggested the militants planned an attack on Obama, possibly during his visit to Indonesia in June.
"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.
Police have arrested and killed several suspected jihadists during a series of raids across Indonesia since February when they discovered a militant training camp in the Sumatran province of Aceh.
Danuri told a press conference on Friday that the Aceh-based militant group had wanted to turn Indonesia into a sharia state.
"They planned to carry out assassinations of U.S. citizens or foreigners in Jakarta or Java," he said.
According to a slide presentation at the conference, the militants had planned the Independence Day attack because they understood that security would not be tight at the ceremony and that officers' weapons would not be loaded with bullets.
Mardigu said other suspected targets included police officials, ministers, oil depots and electricity infrastructure, dams, and liberal Muslims, in order to destabilize 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
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