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American Girl, 5 Arabs Questioned in Connection with Sieff Shooting

January 3, 1974
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Scotland Yard dis-closed today that an American girl arrested at Heathrow Airport Saturday with a suitcase of arms and ammunition has been linked to the mysterious shooting of Joseph Edward Sieff at his central London home Sunday night. Five Arabs were detained at the same time as the girl and are being questioned at Ealing police station, a Scotland Yard spokesman said. He said the link between the arrests and the Sieff shooting had been withheld until now because the authorities were seeking more Arab terrorists.

According to the spokesman, it has not been decided whether the five detainees would be deported or charged with conspiracy to commit violence. The girl, who was not identified, was described as a teenager who landed at Heathrow from Los Angeles. After leaving passport control she was stopped by police who found guess and more than 160 rounds of ammunition in her suitcase. A man she tried to contact on leaving the airport was also detained.

Meanwhile, Sieff’s condition continued to improve today. The 68-year-old department store executive and British Zionist leader was taken out of the intensive care unit and moved into a private room at Middlesex Hospital yesterday. He underwent surgery for the removal of a bullet from his head. Doctors said today they were confident he would recover completely.

The hunt for his assailant continued but clues were slim. Scotland Yard issued a description of the suspect who was described as about 25 years old, dark and slender. Neither Mrs, Sieff nor the butler who admitted the gunman to the Sieff home could offer a better description because the man’s face was hooded.

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