Investigation Into London Bombings Targets Ex-N.C. State Student
AP July 14, 2005
RALEIGH, N.C. -- An Egyptian-born academic being sought by London police as part of their investigation into last week's terrorist bombings spent a semester at North Carolina State University, school officials said Thursday.
The Times of London, quoting unidentified police sources, said detectives were interested in locating Magdy el-Nashar, 33, who recently taught chemistry at Leeds University in northern England. The Times said he was believed to have rented one of the homes being searched in Leeds where at least two of the four suicide bombers lived.
El-Nashar studied chemical engineering at N.C. State University beginning in January 2000, NCSU spokesman Keith Nichols said.
Saad Khan, the chemical engineering department's director of graduate programs, said he remembered that el-Nashar applied for admission while living in Egypt. But by the end of the spring semester, el-Nashar had changed direction and decided to pursue a doctorate at Leeds instead, Khan said.
"He came in and he decided to go somewhere else," Khan said.
In a statement Thursday, Leeds University said el-Nashar enrolled in October 2000 to do biochemical research, sponsored by the National Research Center in Cairo, Egypt. It said he earned a doctorate May 6.
"We understand he was seeking a postdoctorate position in the U.K.," the university said. "His visa was updated by the Home Office earlier this year. He has not been seen on the campus since the beginning of July."
Neighbors said el-Nashar recently left Britain, saying he had a visa problem, The Times reported.
Police have searched several homes in Leeds in their hunt for anyone who aided the July 7 subway and bus attacks that killed 52 and injured 700. Authorities suspect the bombers didn't work alone and that their collaborators or leader are still probably at large.
The Daily Telegraph of London said police were trying to identify a man seen standing near the four suicide bombers on a railway station platform in Luton, where they apparently boarded a train for London on July 7.
The Evening Standard of London reported that police spotted a fifth man on closed-circuit TV showing the group at London's King's Cross station about 20 minutes before the explosions. |
