Terror suspects in US got OK to buy guns’

NEW YORK: A congressional investigation found dozens of terrorism suspects on federal watch lists got approval to buy guns legally in the United States last year, The New York Times reported on Tuesday.

According to the study by the Government Accountability Office, people linked to terrorist groups took advantage of a gap in US gun laws in which suspected members of terrorist organizations are not automatically barred from buying firearms.

The study, which the Times said was due to be released on Tuesday, found that people regarded by the FBI as known or suspected members of terrorist groups requested permission to buy or carry a gun at least 44 times from February to June last year.

The FBI or state authorities in all but nine cases allowed the applications to proceed since checks found no automatic disqualification like being a felon, an illegal immigrant or “mentally defective,” according to the study. Authorities received an additional 14 gun applications from terrorism suspects in the four months after the study ended and all but two were cleared to proceed, reported the Times. reuters