Jerusalem: Omar Khan Sharif, a British citizen who fled the scene of a suicide bombing in Israeli capital Tel Aviv after failing to detonate his explosives unlike his associate, was of Pakistani origin.

Sharif failed to detonate his explosives and escaped after scuffling with bystanders, seconds after Asif Mohammed Hanif, 21, also a British citizen, blew himself up killing three people and injuring many others at a Tel Aviv cafe on April 30.

Sharif, who could possibly be hiding in Tel Aviv, is of Pakistani origin, official sources said on the condition of anonymity.

'Ha'aretz' daily also said in an analysis that "an important detail that has emerged so far is that one of the terrorists was of Pakistani descent, although both men were British citizens."

"This indicates that even if Hamas, as it claims, was responsible for the attack that killed three, it may have been aided by an international Muslim terrorist group that is active among Pakistanis. If so, the connection was probably made through Hizbollah," it said.

Hebrew daily 'Ma'ariv' said Sharif, who lived at 33 Readon Hill Street in Derby in the centre of England, belonged to a family originally from Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir. Sharif, whose parents passed away few years ago, was born in Derby where he lived with his wife and two daughters, it said.

Sharif's Derby house is now empty and police there are still searching for his wife, sister and daughters who disappeared after his involvement in the suicide bombing became known, Ma'ariv said.

PTI