Noordin received letters from jailed Bali bombers, police say

Indonesian police this week staged a press conference in Jakarta to hail the intelligence haul from the hideout where terror mastermind Noordin Mohamed Top died in a hail of gunfire last month.

But what they did not announce was just as revealing, although for different reasons - Noordin had with him a bundle of letters from the Bali bombers, apparently smuggled out of prison to their leader while they waited on death row. A counterterrorism officer has told the South China Morning Post the letters urged Noordin to continue with his jihad to establish Islamic rule in the country.

The discovery of the letters raises questions over the effectiveness of the country's maximum-security prison-island, Nusakambangan, known as the Alcatraz of Indonesia.

Nusakambangan, located in Central Java, has housed the country's most dangerous prisoners, including the infamous Bali bombers Imam Samudra, Amrozi and Mukhlas as they awaited execution.

'We found a pile of letters sent from Nusakambangan by the Bali bombers to Noordin,' the Indonesian counterterrorism officer told the Post.

More than 10 letters were sent to Noordin, each consisting of one sheet of paper written on both sides, said the officer. 'We are investigating how the letters were smuggled out of prison and how they managed to reach Noordin.'