exclusive The United States travel warning last week specifically naming Malaysia may have been based on credible information secured during the interrogation of a recently detained al-Qaeda suspect.

Author of Inside al-Qaeda: Global network of terror Dr Rohan Gunaratna said the US may have singled out Malaysia because of specific information gathered from Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri.

Abd al-Rahim, who is said to be the terror network's top leader in the Gulf, is now in the custody of US authorities.

"I think the US warning must be taken seriously. It is because the warning was based on credible information," said the author in an interview with malaysiakini last Friday.