The police said that a special security squad would be set up in Kuala Lumpur to protect foreign embassies, which have been the target of several recent threats.

The squad would beef up the current system in which mobile units were stationed at "sensitive" missions such as that of the United States, the capital's Police Chief Mustafa Abdullah told the official Bernama news agency.

The move comes after threats were sent by letter to the Japanese and Thai embassies in the past week, less than a month after the Australian and Burmese embassies were attacked.

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.

Local media reported that the letter to the Japanese embassy demanded that it pull its troops out of Iraq. The embassy declined to confirm this, while admitting that it had tightened security because of "the general situation".

Malaysia has had no major terrorist attacks on its own soil, but has detained scores of alleged Muslim militants accused of membership in regional groups such as the al-Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiah.

Most Western embassies here have already put their own tight security systems in place. - AFP