Terrorists might launch strikes during the visit of U.S. President Bush in Indonesia on November 20 to send messages of hatred against the United States for its policies in the Middle East and Iraq, according to military intelligence.

The military spokesman Rear Admiral Moh. Sunarto said here Thursday that the military intelligence has found indication of threat from the terrorist groups during the Bush visit.

"We have predicted and anticipated for the move," he told a press conference at a military office here.

The spokesman said that the military, which hold the command of the security that also involved at least 18,000 police personnel, has been preparing security at a top level.

But, he declined to give further detail over the strength of the troops.

A large number of terrorist suspects under the coordination of Noerdin Moh. Top, the top leader of the Al-Qaeda linked militant network in Southeast Asia, the Jemaah Islamiyah, are still at large in Indonesia, the police has said.

Noerdin has many times escaped from police pursuit and kept conducting recruitment for further plots in the most populous Muslim country.

Besides, a huge number of explosive materials, the remainders of those used for the embassy explosion in Jakarta in 2004, is still in the terrorist hands, police has said.

Resistance over the visit of President Bush has mounted in the country, particularly from the Islamic community, which accounted for about 87 percent of the country's 240 million population.

The two biggest moderate Muslim organizations of the Nahdlatul Ulama and the Muhammaddiyah have also expressed their disagreement on the visit, following frequent small protests from radical groups recently.

The visit, however, has also got a rare support from about one hundred and fifty people in Bogor, a scenic town in a foothill of Jakarta.

Indonesia has been hit by series of major suicide bombings and most of the attacks had been on the western targets, such as the Bali Bombing in 2002, Marriot hotel explosion in 2003 and the Australian embassy bombings in Jakarta 2004.

Expert has warned that terrorists in the country always be prepared for attacks and wait for a favorable moment.

Source: Xinhua