The United States embassy in Kuala Lumpur remained closed today after it was shut down last Friday over a security threat.

However, the embassy declined to provide more details on the nature of the 'threat'.

Contacted this morning, embassy's spokesperson Kathryn Taylor said the mission is reviewing the situation on a daily basis.

"We have not made a decision on when to reopen. We will look at it on a day-to-day basis," she said.

She added that the mission will work closely with the Malaysian authorities to ensure the security of the embassy.

The embassy's website has posted a notice of closure, but it stated that the mission "has no information of specific, credible threats against private American interests in Malaysia".

According to AFP , city police chief Mustafa Abdullah said on the weekend that an embassy staff member had reported seeing several foreign men, including one carrying a camera, loitering outside the mission last Thursday.

The men were caught on the embassy's closed-circuit television system and police were investigating the incident, he said.

Mustafa said police had viewed the footage and were trying to establish the identity of the people, but downplayed the incident, saying they could simply be tourists.

He said police would continue heightened security measures around the embassy, a sprawling complex in central Kuala Lumpur situated on one of the city's main thoroughfares.

Forced to close before

This is not the first time that the US embassy had been closed.

Two years ago, in August 2004, sections of the embassy were closed due to an 'anthrax scare' after it received a letter containing suspicious substances. It was shut down again a month later after another similar threat.

On Sept 11, 2002 - the first anniversary of the terror attacks in New York and Washington DC - the embassy was also closed.

In October last year, the US embassy along with a few other foreign missions, received suspicious packages containing a powdery substance, later found to be a hoax.