JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Police on Wednesday said they seized documents last month showing terrorists had planned to target the area around Jakarta’s Marriott Hotel, where a powerful car bomb a day earlier killed as many as 14 people and injured nearly 150.
Security forces had increased patrols in the Marriott area in response to the seizure but the precautions weren’t enough to prevent the suspected suicide attack, which underscored the continuing threat of terrorism in the world’s largest Muslim nation.
“There was a warning that there were some targets and we have been anticipating an attack,” said Jakarta police spokesman Prasetyo, who like many Indonesians uses a single name.
He said that the documents were seized in the central Java town of Semarang last month, when police arrested seven alleged members of Jemaah Islamiyah.
Officials also said they were investigating two men who allegedly purchased the vehicle used in the bombing, and planned to issue a composite sketch of one of the men later Wednesday.