The suicide bomber who blew himself up early yesterday morning at a Tel Aviv beachfront pub, killing three Israelis and wounding about 60, was a British citizen.

A second terrorist, who managed to flee when his explosive device failed to detonate, is also British.

The three killed in the blast were Yanai Weiss, a musician from Holon, Ran Baron from Tel Aviv, and Dominique Caroline Hess, also from Tel Aviv.

The man who escaped after scuffling with bystanders at the pub was identified as 27-year-old Omar Khan Sharif. The police and Shin Bet are requesting the public's help in locating him and have published his portrait in the media. The suicide bomber, a Muslim, was identified in his British passport as 21-year-old Asif Mohammed Hanif.

Both Hanif and Sharif came to Israel from Britain, then went to the Gaza Strip. They entered Israel from the Gaza Strip a few hours before the attack, the first to be launched from there in the 31 months of the intifada.

At the Tel Aviv promenade, Sharif decided not to continue with the planned attack due to a malfunction in his explosive device. Hanif continued alone and blew himself up in the pub. Minutes later, the police received reports of a man seen escaping from the area. Shortly afterward, the explosive and the fleeing bomber's coat were found near the American embassy.

The attack on Mike's Place was jointly planned by the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades and the Al Qassam Brigades, a man calling himself Abu Barek told AFP by telephone. A statement issued by the Al Qassam Brigades assumed responsibility for the attack, saying it was carried out with the assistance of Fatah's military arm in revenge for Israel's liquidation of Ibrahim Almakadma, a senior member, in the Gaza Strip two months ago.

The British Foreign Office yesterday roundly denounced the terrorist attack and said Britain was cooperating with the Israeli authorities and would give them any necessary help and information regarding the two British suicide bombers.

The British Home Office, which is in charge of the security service MI5, and Scotland Yard, which operates the national unit for fighting terrorism, refused to comment. The two will head the inquiry regarding the recruitment and training of the bombers for their suicide mission.

Palestinian Prime Minster Abu Mazen yesterday denounced the attack, which he described as an immoral act that was harmful to Palestinian interests, too.

The White House condemned the bombing as a "cowardly act," but said the attack would not scuttle the start of a new peace initiative. "We condemn this cowardly act of terrorism. These homicide bombers are not only attempting to murder innocent civilians, they are also attempting to kill the aspirations of the Palestinian people for their own free democratic prosperous state," said White House National Security Council spokesman Sean McCormack.