Jan. 18 (Bloomberg) -- The United Nations World Food Program said it stepped up security for workers in Indonesia's Aceh province, the worst-hit area in the Dec. 26 tsunami, after Denmark's government warned of a possible terrorist attack there.

Denmark's Foreign Ministry said yesterday it had received information about a possible terrorist attack on aid workers and other foreigners in Aceh. The WFP said in a statement on its Web site late yesterday it told workers to ``observe a heightened awareness and take all security precautions necessary.''

Indonesia's government said today more than 115,000 people died in the country, mostly in Aceh, the highest toll among 12 nations hit by giant waves that were triggered by a magnitude-9 earthquake off the Sumatra coast last month. It's been fighting a separatist rebellion in the region for nearly 30 years.

``WFP has not received any confirmed reports of a possible terrorist attack against its staff or humanitarian operations in Aceh province,'' the agency said in its statement. ``WFP and the UN system are looking into the source of information to this effect obtained by the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.''

The separatist Free Aceh Movement said foreigners aren't at risk in the province, which had been closed to outsiders for two years before the tsunami, the New York Times reported yesterday.

Security Operation

Indonesia in December carried out the biggest security operation in years after receiving information from the U.S. and Australia about possible terrorist attacks elsewhere in the country during the Christmas and New Year season on targets including international hotels.

The Free Aceh Movement has been fighting for independence for the province since 1976. Aceh, which has strategic importance as the gateway to the Strait of Malacca, is resource-rich with natural gas, oil and timber. The Strait of Malacca is one of the busiest sea lanes in the world with 40 percent of world trade passing through it.

The WFP will need military help for three months to distribute food in Aceh province, Anthony Banbury, the agency's regional director for Asia, said.

``We are compiling our own air force,'' Banbury said today at press conference in Jakarta. ``We need helicopters to move food within Aceh.''

The World Food Program plans to increase food distribution by 25 percent to 500,000 people in the next 10 days. It had given aid to 400,000 people as of yesterday.

Helping the Injured

Indonesia's government stopped counting the number of people killed, in order to focus more on those displaced and injured, a Social Ministry official said.

``Vice President Jusuf Kalla ordered us to focus more on the helping of displaced people, curing those injured and finding those missing, not the counting of the dead,'' Mima Rochima said. The ministry ``will still internally do the counting, but may not announce it to the public,'' she said.

As of today, at least 115,229 people are confirmed dead, while 12,082 others are still missing, Mima said. At least 603,518 people are displaced, she said.

The World Bank today said it may cost as much as $5 billion to rebuild areas in Indonesia's Aceh province, the area most severely affected by the tsunami. The disaster may slow economic growth, the World Bank said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Aaron Sheldrick in Tokyo at asheldrick@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: January 18, 2005 04:24 EST