Suicide bomber ‘was a big teddy bear’

THE family of a young British Muslim blamed by Israeli police for a suicide attack on a seafront bar in Tel Aviv yesterday spoke of their shock.

Meanwhile, the leader of the London mosque where Asif Mohammed Hanif worshipped condemned the attack, as Israeli police hunted for another Briton they said was his accomplice, who fled when his explosive device failed to detonate.

Police in Tel Aviv say Hanif, 21, blew himself up hours before the publication of the road map outlining a peaceful settlement in the Middle East.

Three people died in the attack and more than 50 were injured.

But Hanif's brother Taz, speaking from his home in Hounslow, west London, said: "He wasn't that sort of person. He wasn't into that kind of stuff.

"Anyone who knew him would tell you. He was just a big teddy bear that's what people said about him," he said.

He told The Sun newspaper: "We used to watch the news and our parents said the suicide stuff is not good.

"What do you achieve by killing yourself and killing other people?."

Taz said his brother was studying Arabic at Damascus University in Syria so he could return to England and teach children in London.

When he was told his brother had been involved he said he "went pale with shock".

"I couldn't believe it," he said. "I spoke to him two weeks ago and he said he was all right and still at uni."

Hanif was a "well liked and respected pupil" at Cranford Community College, Hounslow, which he attended for eight years, said headteacher Kevin Prunty.

Yesterday, Israeli security forces were continuing to hunt down his accomplice, named as fellow Briton Omar Khan Sharif.

Sharif, 27, and from Derby, scuffled with bystanders before fleeing, police said.

A spokesman for Israeli police said the two men had entered Israel from the Gaza Strip hours before the attack.

Hanif was said to have set off the explosives at the entrance to the pub after the security guard on duty at the door physically prevented him from entering.

Sharif managed to get away from bystanders who tried to detain him, throwing away his explosive device as he escaped.

Israeli police released pictures of both men's British passports.

The bombing was claimed as a joint operation by the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, an armed offshoot of Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement, and the armed wing of Hamas, the hard-line Islamic group.

The British ambassador to Israel, Sherard Cowper-Coles, said British intelligence was helping the Israelis investigate the bombing.

"This time we think the terrorists have British passports. This is something that is particularly sad," he said on Israel Radio in fluent Hebrew after laying a wreath at the scene of the attack.

"Since yesterday, British and Israeli intelligence have been holding intensive contacts. We are now checking the passports and investigating the entire event. There is full and intensive co-operation," he said.