Man Held in Argentina Blasts

WASHINGTON —  A Pakistani man who Argentine sources say is wanted for questioning in the bombings of the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires in 1992 and of a Jewish cultural center there in 1994 is in custody in Los Angeles, Immigration and Naturalization Service officials said Monday.

INS spokeswoman Nancy Cohen said Mohammad Abass Malik was arrested on grounds that he was in the United States without proper documentation.

The 1994 bombing killed 86 people, and 29 died in the embassy blast. Scores of others were injured.

The chief of Argentina’s intelligence service, Fernando de Santibanes, disclosed the arrest to Associated Press on Tuesday, the day Malik was taken into custody, but there was no confirmation by any U.S. government agency until Friday. Santibanes, who is in the United States for a speech, said Argentine authorities believe the detainee may have a connection to the bombing at the Jewish center.

Malik was being held at the INS’ detention facility in San Pedro for alleged immigration violations, said Sharon Gavin, a spokeswoman for the INS Western region. He is waiting for a hearing before an immigration judge, she said.

Santibanes said the alleged linking of Malik to the bombings was based on information obtained by Interpol.

The two bombings have been a high priority of American Jewish leaders. When Argentine President Fernando de la Rua visited Washington in June, Abraham Foxman of the Anti-Defamation League said it was “really important to see when and if the Argentine government can bring to justice those who perpetrated the bombing of the Jewish community center and Embassy.”

Santibanes said Argentina is committed to finding the perpetrators of the bombings and is cooperating with the CIA, Israel’s intelligence service and other agencies.

Argentina has an estimated Jewish population of 300,000, the second-largest Jewish community in the Western Hemisphere.