A visiting top US envoy voiced hopes today that radical groups would not attack US personnel conducting relief work in Indonesia's Aceh province.

"This is not the kind of field for people to come in and undertake violent acts," US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs James A Kelly, who is on a three-day visit here, told a news conference.

"This is an atmosphere for helping human beings who are in distress," he said.

"This is not about making political points or occupying Indonesia. This is about helping out human beings."

Kelly was asked to comment on reports saying that an Indonesian radical group known as Laskar Mujahidin had set up camp in Indonesia's Aceh province.

When asked if there was a credible threat of attacks against US personnel in Aceh, Kelly said, "I sure hope not and I don't think so. But you can never completely exclude the possibility of people doing evil."

Indonesia has the largest Muslim population in the world and has been used in the past by al-Qaeda-linked militants to launch terrorist attacks.

"Naturally Indonesia is on the alert for things like that and we're trying to look around ourselves. There may be some talk but frankly I haven't even heard as much talk about this."

Muslim world opinion

Kelly was also asked if his country's relief efforts would boost its battered image in the Muslim world.

"I don't know if it will or not change people's sentiments because this is not an operation that's about making people's feelings affected one way or the other," he said.

"If that happens, it's good but this is really about helping people using the resources that we happen to have and that other countries have to meet a human problem that needs to be met," he said.

"If that gives people second thoughts, I guess that's good but that's not at all why the USA is undertaking this," he said.

Kelly, who attended the emergency tsunami summit in Jakarta on Thursday, will tour some of the devastated areas in Kedah tomorrow. He is scheduled to meet government officials on Monday.