WASHINGTON The United States on Friday sidestepped Malaysia's outraged response to a State Department warning that the country could fall victim to a Bali-style terror attack.

State Department deputy spokesman Philip Reeker declined to be drawn into the controversy during his on-the-record briefing, after Malaysian police asked Washington to provide information to back up its travel warning on Wednesday.

A Malaysian official had earlier denounced the US warning as "paranoid and baseless."

But a State Department official speaking on condition of anonymity late Friday praised Malaysia's cooperation in the US anti-terror campaign.