A man detained in connection with a car bomb attack Wednesday on the Israel Embassy in Nicosia, Cyprus, was identified by the Cypriot authorities as Omar Ahmad Hawillo, 28, a student from Lebanon who has been attending college in Nicosia.
The authorities said Hawillo arrived in Cyprus on March 21. He was arrested while fleeing the scene of the attack. He dropped a bag containing a remote-control device that apparently was to detonate the bomb.
The explosion, which killed three people and injured 20, occurred on a bridge about 100 yards from the embassy. Two of the dead were passersby and the third was the driver of the explosives-laden vehicle, a four-wheel-drive Mitsubishi Pajero.
His charred remains were found about 400 yards from the site of the blast, which left a large crater in the roadway. The driver was not identified.
The Cypriot authorities said immediately after the attack that the Israeli Embassy was clearly the target. No Israelis were hurt.
The Israeli ambassador to Cyprus, Aharon Lopez, said the embassy had received no threats or advance warning. He recalled previous attacks on the embassy in the 1970s and in 1983.
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