FOLLOWERS of Mohammed Abbas, Palestinian mastermind of the Achille Lauro cruise ship hijacking in 1985, said yesterday his death in US custody in Iraq amounted to "assassination".

Abul Abbas, the Palestinian mastermind of the 1985 hijacking of the Achille Lauro passenger ship in which an American tourist was killed, has died in US custody in Iraq.

Abul Abbas, the head of a Palestinian splinter group who masterminded the 1985 hijacking of the Italian passenger ship the Achille Lauro in which an American tourist was killed, has died in US custody in Iraq, Palestinian officials said tonight.

A Palestinian terror leader today called on Arabs to volunteer to help defend Iraq in the event of an Anglo-American invasion.