see: Lives of the Bus of Death

The man claiming responsibility for Wednesday's deadly suicide attack on an Israeli bus spent four years living in Tampa and taught Middle East Studies to University of South Florida students. Islamic Jihad Secretary General Ramadan Shallah said the attack, which killed at least 16 people, was meant to mark the 35th anniversary of the Six Day War that began Israel's occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Shallah worked as administrative director for a think tank called the World and Islam Studies Enterprise in Tampa from 1991 to 1995. WISE focused on issues concerning Islam and the West. It had a cooperative agreement with a group of USF faculty to share libraries and organize symposiums.

Shallah also taught two semesters as a USF adjunct professor, going by the name Ramadan Abdullah during his time here. His appointment to the Jihad's leadership in October 1995 caught the faculty and university by surprise. Former co-workers expressed shock, saying they had never heard him espouse any radical or violent ideology. In a statement, WISE denied ``any knowledge of Dr. Abdullah's association or affiliation with any political group or agency in the Middle East.'' Federal agents served a search warrant on the WISE office three weeks later. In affidavits used to obtain the warrant, agents alleged WISE and a related charity were fronts for the Islamic Jihad. No charges have ever been filed in the case.

Shallah's time in Tampa continues to haunt some of those he worked with here. Former U.S. Attorney Mac Cauley issued a statement in April verifying that WISE's founder, USF Professor Sami Al-Arian, remains the focus of an ``active and ongoing'' criminal investigation. USF placed Al-Arian on paid leave in September, after his appearance on a national television program brought him renewed attention and death threats. USF's board of trustees later recommended firing the tenured engineering professor, saying his outside activities disrupt university routine.

President Judy Genshaft has said she plans to follow that recommendation, but hasn't done so yet. Meanwhile, Al-Arian's brother-in-law and WISE's former executive director, Mazen Al-Najjar, is in jail awaiting a final order of deportation. His attorneys have filed suit seeking his release, and an immigration service review of his case is scheduled for Friday.

Immigration officials previously jailed Al-Najjar for 3 1/2 years on secret evidence allegedly linking him to the Islamic Jihad. He was freed by a federal judge.