Jakarta – Money sent by Al-Qaeda to support the families of suspects arrested over the Bali bombings was used to finance the August 5 attack on the JW Marriott Hotel in Jakarta, Indonesian terror suspect Hambali has told investigators.

He also said that Jemaah Islamiah, the group blamed for the Bali bombings that killed 202 people and the attack on the Marriott, had received "operational funds" from senior Al-Qaeda leader Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.

The revelations were carried in yesterday's respected Media Indonesia newspaper but police were not immediately available for comment on the report – the strongest indication yet of financial links between Al-Qaeda and JI.

Hambali, whose real name is Riduan Isamuddin, was captured on August 11 in Thailand and handed over to US authorities. He is alleged to be Al-Qaeda's top agent in South-east Asia and the operational commander of Jemaah Islamiah.

Paraphrasing interrogation records handed over to Indonesian police by US and Thai investigators, Media Indonesia reported that Hambali had said Al-Qaeda was "very satisfied" with the Bali attacks.

He is also reported as saying the terror group had sent him US$100,000 (S$173,000) in two instalments to support the families of more than 30 people arrested in connection with the blasts.

Hambali told investigators he had sent the money to Malaysian terror suspect Noordin Mohamed Top for this purpose but it had been used to finance the Marriott attack instead, the paper said.

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was arrested in Pakistan in March. The report did not say what the funds he allegedly sent to Jemaah Islamiah were used for, nor how much the group had received.

Police have arrested at least 12 suspected JI operatives over the JW Marriott attack, in which at least 12 people were killed. Two militants have been sentenced to death for their role in the Bali blast. Key suspects are still at large and police and foreign governments have warned that more attacks on Western targets are likely.