Ottawa professor arrested in deadly 1980 Paris bombing

A University of Ottawa sociology professor has been arrested in Gatineau, Que., in relation to a bombing that killed four people near a synagogue in Paris almost three decades ago.

Canada's Department of Justiceconfirmed that56-year-old Hassan Diab was arrested Thursday, Agence-France Presse reported.

Diab,apart-time sociology professor at the University of Ottawa who also taught at Carleton University, is a suspect in a bombing on Oct. 3, 1980, outside the Copernic Street synagoguein Paris. The explosion killed four people, three French and one Israeli.

According to Agence-France Presse, French police, who are conducting the investigation, accuse Diab, a Lebanese-Canadian, of building the explosive device hidden inside a motorcycle parked a few metres from the synagogue.

RCMP Cpl. J.J. Hainey confirmed thatthe RCMP arresteda manThursday morningas part of aFrench investigation and he is being held in custody pending the outcome of an extradition hearing, but he would not confirm the man's identity.

The RCMPare helping French police with the investigation under a mutual legal assistance treaty, Hainey said.

An international warrant had been issued forDiab's arrest. However, Diab had claimed earlier in an interview with a French newspaper thathe is innocent and the case is one of mistaken identity.