The Japanese embassy here has tightened security, an embassy official said today, after local media reported it had received threats over the presence of Japanese troops in Iraq.

"Based on the general situation, we have tightened security measures at the embassy," the official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

The Star newspaper reported that the embassy received a letter asking the country to pull its troops out of Iraq or face the consequences.

It quoted Crime Investigations Department chief Musa Hassan as confirming the police were investigating a report lodged by the Japanese embassy.

"We have taken possession of the letter and are investigating," he said. The note reportedly says "we can do anything to the embassy if you do not pull out."

The embassy official, however, refused to confirm it had received such a letter.

Embassy razed

The latest threat against an embassy in Kuala Lumpur comes after the Thai embassy here was warned in a letter Monday that it would be bombed and its ambassador assassinated, and follows attacks on the Burmese and Australian missions.

A Burmese diplomat was wounded when a group of enraged refugees set fire to the building earlier this month ( photo ), while on March 30, a small explosive device was thrown at the Australian High Commission from a speeding car, causing no injuries or damage.

Police said after the letter was sent to the Thai embassy that they took all such threats seriously and would increase protection for the mission.

The letter was signed by a little-known Thai separatist group called the Pattani Liberation Front (PLF), police said.

The group is believed to be based in the mainly Muslim south of the country, which has seen an upsurge in violence this year, with arson attacks, shootings and highly organised raids leaving at least 65 people dead, mostly government officials and security forces. - AFP

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