Several hundred demonstrators gathered today outside the United States embassy in Kuala Lumpur to deliver a memorandum protesting the alleged desecration of the Quran by US military interrogators.

Led by opposition Islamic party PAS, the crowd of about 500 people chanted " Long live Islam " and " Allahu Akbar " and burnt a US flag before handing the letter to US embassy officials.

The memorandum, signed by PAS and three Muslim non-governmental organisations, protested the alleged desecration of the Quran at the Guantanamo Bay detention centre and called for a halt to torture and abuse of prisoners by the US government.

"We're showing our displeasure for the whole scenario and we want some stern action to be taken against those involved in desecrating the Koran," said PAS vice president Hasan Ali.

The protest follows a May 2 report in Newsweek magazine that US investigators had found interrogators at the Guantanamo prison in Cuba threw a Quran in a toilet to rattle Muslim inmates.

The report, which Newsweek later retracted, set off four days of riots in Afghanistan earlier this month which claimed the lives of at least 14 people and protests have continued in Muslim countries.

Probe assured

The embassy's political officer, Alexander Sokoloff said the memorandum would be given to the ambassador, who would "most likely" relay it to the US President George W Bush.

"We're equally concerned about any desecration of any holy book and we're certainly investigating any allegations, although so far those allegations have been withdrawn by Newsweek ," said Sokoloff.

Hasan told AFP that PAS would track the efforts of the US Embassy. "The suggestions have to be taken seriously by them and we want them to act upon them," he said.

The crowd dispersed peacefully after half an hour.