Jakarta sees terror strike imminent

"The threat of terrorist attacks is imminent. We know that they are still planning further attacks," Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono told a business lunch.

Yudhoyono said that despite the arrest of dozens of people in connection with last year's Bali bombings and the car bombing at the JW Marriott hotel in Jakarta in August, the nation must remain vigilant.

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"From the perpetrators of the Bali and Marriott bombings, we have learned that others still not caught are still determined to launch attacks," he said.

The Bali bombings in October 2002 killed 202 people, mostly foreigners, and the Marriott blast claimed 12 lives. Three people have been sentenced to death and many others jailed for the Bali blasts.

The al Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) regional terror network is blamed for both bombings and a string of other attacks or attempted attacks in Southeast Asia.

Police are still looking for a former Malaysian university professor and bomb-making expert, Azahari Husin, and several other people in connection with the Bali and Marriott attacks.

Security at Jakarta hotels, offices, apartment blocks and other premises has been tightened markedly since the hotel bombing. Vehicles are searched and individuals checked with metal detectors.

Yudhoyono said that during his meeting with US Secretary of State Colin Powell in Washington last month he demanded that Indonesia be given direct access to alleged terror chief Hambali, who is in US custody at a secret location.