LONDON - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice cited what she called "firm evidence" on Tuesday that the Islamic Jihad helped plan last week's Tel Aviv suicide bombing from Syria.
"There is firm evidence that Palestinian Islamic Jihad ,sitting in Damascus, not only knew about the attacks, but was involved in the planning," Rice told ABC News in an interview according to an excerpt provided by the U.S. television network.
Speaking to ABC on the sidelines of Tuesday's London conference, Rice ratcheted up pressure on Syria to cease its alleged support for both Palestinian terror groups and Iraqi insurgents and to withdraw its 14,000 troops from Lebanon.
"There is evidence that Islamic Jihad, headquartered in Syria, was in fact involved with the planning of those attacks in Tel Aviv. And so the Syrians have a lot to answer for," Rice told ABC.
"We don't know the degree of Syrian involvement, but certainly what is happening on the territory of Syria, in and around Damascus, is clearly threatening to the different kind of Middle East we're trying to grow," she added.