Heru Andriyanto – The militant group led by the late Noordin M Top had allegedly sought funding from Saudi Arabia to launch the biggest attacks after those on US cities on Sept. 11, 2001, according to the prosecution document against a suspect in the Jakarta hotel bombings, which was read on Tuesday at South Jakarta District Court.

Muhammad Jibriel, who is standing trial for his role in the July 17, 2009, bombings at the Ritz-Carlton and JW Marriott hotels, had sent an email to his brother who studied in Saudi Arabia telling him that he would depart to the country to seek funding for "amali", the Arabic term used by extremist groups for "attack" or "action".

"It is for amali, the biggest after WTC," the indictment quoted Jibriel as telling his younger brother in the email. The indictment didn't further detail the content of the email, which allegedly referred to the attacks on the twin World Trade Center (WTC) buildings in New York.

"I cannot say if the WTC stands for the World Trade Center in New York, we just put the plain content of the email on our indictment," said prosecutor Totok Bambang when contacted by the Jakarta Globe. "But of course we will ask the defendant what he meant by "biggest after WTC" in future hearings."

In the opening trial, Jibriel, 25, was accused of hiding information about the bombing plot targeting the hotels and of document forgery.

"When traveling to Mecca, apart from performing the ritual pilgrimage of Umroh, the defendant also sought funding for amali," the indictment stated.

Dozens of supporters filled the court and shouted "Allahu Akbar" ("God is great!") many times. The defendant's father, Abu Jibriel, also came to the court to lend support.