Asian allies step up security measures

Australia, Japan and South Korea, who like Spain all have troops stationed in Iraq, pledged increases in security in the wake of the Madrid blasts, which left 201 people dead and have been blamed on Islamic extremists.

However, none of the three countries suggested withdrawing from Iraq despite a plan by Spain's newly-elected socialists to pull out 1,300 troops after Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar suffered an election defeat linked to the attacks.

Tap Here to Add The Daily Star As A Trusted Source

Australia announced a funding boost for frontline intelligence bodies to the tune of 300 million dollars in addition to launching a major counter-terror exercise to test defences against chemical and biological strike.

Prime Minister John Howard said the increased funding, to be included in the May budget, would take total expenditure on national security to almost three billion dollars since the attacks in the United States on September 11, 2001.

Some 88 Australian citizens were among the 202 killed in the October 2002 bomb attacks on the Indonesian resort island of Bali, blamed on the Al-Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiyah regional terror group.

In South Korea, acting President Goh Kun put the country on high alert, identifying the nation as a potential target for terrorists because it plans to deploy a further 3,000 troops for rehabilitiation work in Iraq next month.

"Those countries which have their troops stationed in Iraq have become main targets for terrorist attacks," spokesman Kim Duck-Bong quoted Goh as saying.

"South Korea, in some respects, is a country that should be on a high state of alert against terrorism."

Goh called for thorough preparations to ensure the safety of the troops and additional measures to prevent attacks on public facilities in South Korea, such as a new high-speed railway that will go into service in April.

Meanwhile, Japanese police said they would double the number of officers deployed at major railway stations in Tokyo as part of measures to boost security following the Madrid bombings.

Fears of terrorist attacks are looming large in Japan, in the process of deploying 600 troops to Iraq, after a statement attributed to Al-Qaeda claimed responsibility for the Madrid bombings which named Japan as a potential target.