Man Charged over Muslim Murders in US

Houses reach the edge of the desert on the outskirts of Albuquerque, New Mexico, US, July 5, 2018. REUTERS/Brian Snyder
Houses reach the edge of the desert on the outskirts of Albuquerque, New Mexico, US, July 5, 2018. REUTERS/Brian Snyder
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Man Charged over Muslim Murders in US

Houses reach the edge of the desert on the outskirts of Albuquerque, New Mexico, US, July 5, 2018. REUTERS/Brian Snyder
Houses reach the edge of the desert on the outskirts of Albuquerque, New Mexico, US, July 5, 2018. REUTERS/Brian Snyder

US police hunting the killer of four Muslim men in a New Mexico city said Tuesday they have arrested their "primary suspect" and charged him with two of the murders.

The killings, three of which came in the last couple of weeks, had sent shock waves through the Muslim population in Albuquerque, with community leaders talking of a growing sense of panic.

But on Tuesday, investigators said a public tip had led them to 51-year-old Afghan immigrant Muhammad Syed.

The breakthrough came after detectives had appealed for public help cracking the case, issuing a photograph of a car they believed was involved in the killings of the South Asian men.

"We tracked down the vehicle believed to be involved in a recent murder of a Muslim man in Albuquerque," Albuquerque police chief Harold Medina wrote on Twitter.

"The driver was detained and he is our primary suspect for the murders."

At a press conference, police said they were still investigating the motive.

Tensions rose in Albuquerque after the discovery on August 5 of a body near an office providing services to refugees.

That came as police were investigating the deaths of two men who had died within the previous 10 days. It is these two murders that Syed has been charged with.

A gun believed to have been used in the slayings was found during a police search of his home.

The November death of an Afghan man in the city was also being probed for a likely connection to the recent killings.

The spate of killings had set nerves on edge in the city's Muslim community.



Fire at Liquefied Gas Site in Iran Reportedly Under Control

Iranians walk past a billboard with the pictures of late IRGC Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani (C), late Hamas leaders Ismail Haniyeh (L) and Yahya Sinwar (R), and late Hezbollah leader Hasan Nasrallah (2-R), and the head of Hezbollah's executive council Hashem Safieddine (2-L), and a sentence reading in Persian 'God wrote our duty, to help the oppressed' at the Enghelab square in Tehran, Iran, 21 January 2025. EPA/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH
Iranians walk past a billboard with the pictures of late IRGC Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani (C), late Hamas leaders Ismail Haniyeh (L) and Yahya Sinwar (R), and late Hezbollah leader Hasan Nasrallah (2-R), and the head of Hezbollah's executive council Hashem Safieddine (2-L), and a sentence reading in Persian 'God wrote our duty, to help the oppressed' at the Enghelab square in Tehran, Iran, 21 January 2025. EPA/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH
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Fire at Liquefied Gas Site in Iran Reportedly Under Control

Iranians walk past a billboard with the pictures of late IRGC Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani (C), late Hamas leaders Ismail Haniyeh (L) and Yahya Sinwar (R), and late Hezbollah leader Hasan Nasrallah (2-R), and the head of Hezbollah's executive council Hashem Safieddine (2-L), and a sentence reading in Persian 'God wrote our duty, to help the oppressed' at the Enghelab square in Tehran, Iran, 21 January 2025. EPA/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH
Iranians walk past a billboard with the pictures of late IRGC Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani (C), late Hamas leaders Ismail Haniyeh (L) and Yahya Sinwar (R), and late Hezbollah leader Hasan Nasrallah (2-R), and the head of Hezbollah's executive council Hashem Safieddine (2-L), and a sentence reading in Persian 'God wrote our duty, to help the oppressed' at the Enghelab square in Tehran, Iran, 21 January 2025. EPA/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH

Firefighters have brought under control a fire at a liquefied gas site in Rey City south of Tehran, the Ministry of Oil's news outlet SHANA reported on Wednesday, adding there were no casualties.

"An incident took place in one of the depots of Rey's liquefied gas storage facility, not at the oil storage facility," Keramat Veiskarami, CEO of Iran's National Petroleum Products Distribution Company, told SHANA, referring to earlier news reports.

According to Reuters, Veiskarami said information regarding the cause of the incident would be released later.

Rey is located 11 kilometers south of Tehran.