Chris Brummitt, Jakarta – Ten alleged militants arrested this month planned to assassinate an American teacher in Indonesia and avenge the upcoming executions of the Bali nightclub bombers by attacking the Supreme Court, a top anti-terrorism official said.

The official identified the teacher only by his first name, Samuel, and said he worked in the small town of Sekayu on Sumatra island. The US Embassy in Indonesia declined comment.

The anti-terrorism officer spoke late Sunday to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity, saying that revealing his identity would jeopardize ongoing anti-terror operations. The suspects' lawyer was not immediately available for comment.

The revelations point to the resilience of Islamist militant networks in Indonesia despite a US-backed crackdown that has netted more than 400 suspects in recent years and reduced the risk of more large-scale attacks on Western targets, most experts say.

Since Sept. 11, 2001, Indonesia has been hit by a string of suicide bombings blamed on the regional terror group Jemaah Islamiyah, including the 2002 nightclub bombings on Bali island that left 202 people dead, many of them foreign tourists. The last major strike was in 2005, also on Bali.

The 10 militants were arrested in early July in a series of raids on Sumatra, including in Sekayu town. Officers have said one of the suspects was a Singaporean who trained in Afghanistan with al-Qaida. Several bombs packed with live bullets were seized from the men.

The officer said the group planned to detonate one of the devices in the parking lot of the Supreme Court in the capital, Jakarta, to coincide with the executions of three militants convicted in the Bali attacks. He declined to say how advanced the planning was in either operation.

Officers have previously said the group also planned to attack a cafe in the tourist town of Bukittinggi, but aborted it at the last minute out of fears there would be too many Muslim causalities.