CANBERRA, Australia -- Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said Monday he was sending more troops and police to East Timor in response to what he called a coordinated assassination attempt against that country's president and prime minister.

Rudd said the East Timorese government had asked for the extra security help, which would comprise a "company strength" deployment of troops and up to 70 more Australian Federal Police and be sent as soon as it could be arranged.

Australia currently leads of multinational security force in East Timor. Rudd said Australian troop numbers in East Timor would total about 1,000 after the new deployment.