Indonesian police say a Singaporean man who met Osama bin Laden several times is among nine militant suspects arrested in western Indonesia.

Officers from the country's anti-terrorism unit also recovered a cache of 22 powerful bombs packed with bullets.

They were seized in a raid in Palembang, a coastal city on Sumatra Island.

Local television quoted anti-terror police as saying the suspects initially planned to attack Western tourists on Sumatra but changed their minds.

Its believed some of those arrested had ties with Southeast Asia's most wanted militant suspect, Noordin Top, believed to head a breakaway faction of Jemaah Islamiyah committed to al-Qaeda-style attacks on Western civilian targets.

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