The foreign ministry today said that it was making efforts to secure the release of a Malaysian student detained by US troops in Iraq.

Mohamad Abdullah Osman, 35, a student of Saddam University, was believed to be held at a detention centre in Baghdad, a ministry spokesman told the national news agency Bernama .

The foreign ministry was informed about the case by the Malaysian embassy in Syria, but did not know why the student was detained, he said.

"We are still waiting for a response and will continue to contact the US authorities there through certain channels to get further information," he added.

Mohamad Abdullah was one of three Malaysian students who stayed behind in Iraq during the US-led attacks in March, Bernama said.

He was reported to have been detained by US troops along with several others four weeks ago while crossing the Syrian border to return to Malaysia, it added. - AFP