US suicide bomb suspects linked to Hamas

NEW YORK, Aug 2: United States law enforcement officials have linked the three Arabs arrested for allegedly planning a suicide bombing here...

NEW YORK, Aug 2: United States law enforcement officials have linked the three Arabs arrested for allegedly planning a suicide bombing here to a radical Palestinian group Hamas and said their targets included American and Jewish interests.

They said they had traced phone calls made from some stores near the suspects’ apartment here to Hamas and contended the suspects had made them.

The three were arrested on Thursday night after a tip off that they were planning a suicide bombing of the city’s mass transit system.

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ABC television network reported a crudely written note by one of the suspects, Gazi Ibrahim Abu Mezer, found in their apartment during a 17-hour search said they wanted to derail the West Asia peace process. It also attacked persecution of Arabs and expressed support for Hamas.

The talks were to resume this week after a four-month deadlock. But an angry Israel announced indefinite suspension a day after suicide bombs killed 15 and injured more than 150 in Jerusalem on Wednesday.

Even as security across New York was beefed up, Mayor Rudolph Giuliani has called for tightening of immigration policy and barring those who admit they have been accused of terrorism.