The World : Iran ‘Hit Squad’ Suspected

A suspected Iranian hit squad passed through Spain recently on a mission to kill British author Salman Rushdie, the Spanish news agency EFE said. The news agency said seven Iranians met in Madrid about 10 days ago and that investigations showed they planned to kill Rushdie, whose novel “The Satanic Verses” was deemed so blasphemous by Iran’s Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini that he ordered the novelist killed. The news agency said that information obtained through telephone taps revealed the group was unable to purchase weapons in Spain and that no arrests were made for lack of evidence. The report said the commando team of five men and two women then split up and left the country. Rushdie is in hiding in England.