American citizens in Malaysia were advised yesterday to maintain a high level of security after the United States Embassy in Kuala Lumpur received death threats.
Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad later assured Americans that they need not fear for their safety. He said Malaysians would 'not be violent' to Americans in the country.
The threats came after two Muslim terrorists were convicted over the 1993 World Trade Centre bombing and a Pakistani, also Muslim, was convicted of murdering two CIA employees.
US Embassy press attache Jim Warren said two telephone calls were made to the mission in the morning threatening American citizens. One caller, speaking English 'with an accent' threatened to kill four Americans in Malaysia. Mr Warren said the Embassy was unable to assess the credibility of the threats.
However, it had sent out a notice to Americans in Malaysia informing them of the calls and advising them to maintain a high level of security awareness.
Mr Warren said that, to his knowledge, it was the first time a 'very specific threat' of this kind had been directed at the Embassy.
Analysts said the reference to 'four Americans' suggested a link with an incident in Karachi on Wednesday, when four Americans and their Pakistani driver were shot dead in a daylight ambush. That attack came one day after Mir Aimal Kansi was found guilty of killing two CIA workers and jailed for 20 years in the US.