Indonesia is investigating an internet posting that claims to be from Islamic militant Noordin Top taking responsibility for this month’s suicide bomb attacks on two luxury hotels in Jakarta, an official said on Wednesday. The July 17 attacks on the JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton killed nine and wounded 53, including Indonesians and foreigners.

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Police have yet to identify the perpetrators but suspect that Malaysian-born Top, who heads a splinter group of radical Islamic group Jemaah Islamiah, may have helped plan the attacks.

"We are investigating the blog, we need time to trace it,“ said Gatot Dewa Broto, a spokesman for the information and communications ministry.

The blog, posted on July 26, said it was from "Tandzim Al Qo’idah Indonesia“ led by Noordin Top.

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The statement, in a mix of Indonesian, Malay and Arabic, includes verses from the Koran and said the attacks were a "gift from God“, carried out after careful planning. It said the attacks would "soothe the hearts of Muslims who have suffered throughout the world“. It also appeared to refer to a business meeting organised by consulting firm CastleAsia and attended by several foreigners that was taking place in the Marriott when the bomber struck.

The meeting included "prominent businessmen and intelligence agents in the American economy“, it said.

"We want to destroy their strength in this country, those who steal the valuables belonging to Muslims in this country.“

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Sidney Jones, a Jakarta-based expert on Islamic militants at the International Crisis Group, said the arguments in the statement were consistent with those Top had used before.

"I think it’s plausible but I don’t think we can know for sure. It certainly reads like a statement that Noordin would write.“

Jones also noted that Top had previously issued a statement claiming responsibility for bombings in Bali in 2005.

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One difference with this statement and the previous one from Top was that it claimed to be from Al Qaeda for Indonesia and not Al Qaeda for the Malay Archipelago, she said.

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