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A man believed to have been a close aide of slain terrorist master Noordin M Top told a Jakarta court on Wednesday that Al Qaeda was responsible for the hotel bombings in the capital last year and not Jemaah Islamiyah, as many had previously suggested.

Amir Abdillah, who has admitted driving a car with the “field coordinator” at the time of the July 17 attacks on the JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels, made the remarks when he testified for a co-defendant at the South Jakarta District Court.

The bombings “were carried out by an organization under Al Qaeda,” Amir said in reply to a question from the panel of judges. When they asked if the group belonged to JI, he said, “No, it is Al Qaeda,” but did not elaborate.

Amir then answered “I don’t know” to many questions, including whether the group had links with top terror suspect Hambali, now in US custody, or Abu Bakar Bashir, accused by several governments of being the spiritual leader of JI. Amir, 34, said he worked at the Mulia Hotel in South Jakarta between 1999 and 2007 and he had met with Noordin over that period.

He was recruited to the group by Saefudin Zuhri, whom police say was the field coordinator of the attack and the man who instructed the suicide bombers and activated the bombs using his cellphone in a car driven by Amir. Saefudin died in a police raid two months after the bombings.

“I was there driving the car. He [Saefudin] used a cellphone equipped with 3G system. I heard the words ‘just a little bit more,’ then he shouted ‘Allahu akbar’ and cried,” Amir said.

He said he knew Saefudin in 2005. Asked about the reason he agreed to join the Noordin group, Amir replied: “Jihad.” Asked how he felt about the attacks, he said he was in full support of them.

“Didn’t you feel sorry?” presiding Judge Haswandi asked.

“I felt sorry after I was arrested,” Amir said.

The judge asked him about a portion of the attack-preparation video made by the group that had been publicly shown by police, and which showed a box of KFC fast food.

“You said you hate American people but why do you eat Kentucky?” the judge asked half-jokingly. Amir said he didn’t know about the take-away box.

Amir was presented as a witness in the terror trial of Aris Susanto, who is accused of assisting Noordin before and after the attacks when the Malaysian national hid in Solo.

Apart from his role in the hotel bombings, Amir last month was indicted in a plot to assassinate President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. He was allegedly assigned by the group to survey the daily route of the presidential motorcade from Cikeas, Yudhoyono’s private residence near Bogor, to the State Palace.

In June, Amir allegedly assisted his group in finding a boarding house near Cikeas and provided explosives for the planned attack. Yudhoyono was targeted because “he had given his blessing to and was responsible for the executions of the 2002 Bali bombers,” according to the indictment.

In a separate proceeding at the same court on Wednesday, prosecutors demanded 10 years in jail for Saefudin Zuhri, who has the same name as Noordin’s deceased right-hand man.

Saefudin, alias Tsabit, alias Sugeng, alias Abu Lubaba, 39, is accused of harboring Noordin and failing to report to authorities despite knowledge that the man was the target of a major manhunt for terrorism.

“The defendant in 2005 rented a house for Noordin for a month. He also introduced Noordin to Arina Rahmah, the daughter of his wife’s uncle named Baharudin Latif, and served as a witness in the wedding of Noordin and Arina ... in Cilacap,” prosecutor Totok Bambang said.

“Based on those facts, he is proven to have harbored a man who carried of acts of terrorism. His crime hampers the antiterrorism measures by authorities.”