LONDON, March 1: Syrian-based Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad was behind last week's deadly suicide bombing in Tel Aviv that threatened to wreck Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Tuesday.

"There is evidence that Islamic Jihad, headquartered in Syria, was in fact involved with the planning of those attacks in Tel Aviv," Ms Rice said in an interview with US broadcasting network ABC News. "And so the Syrians have a lot to answer for."

Israel blames Islamic Jihad for the blast Friday at a Tel Aviv night club, in which five Israelis and the bomber were killed and more than 40 others wounded, and has accused Syria of involvement. The Syrian government has denied any involvement, however, saying it had closed the Damascus-based office of the militant Islamic organization. -AFP