WASHINGTON — An Egyptian chemist who once studied at North Carolina State University is being sought by British authorities as part of their investigation into last week's London bombings, U.S. law enforcement officials confirmed Thursday.

Magdy Mahmoud Mostafa el-Nashar, 33, was a graduate student in chemical engineering for the spring 2000 semester at N.C. State. He did not earn a degree there, university spokesman Keith Nichols said Thursday. Records show he lived off-campus. Nichols did not know why el-Nashar left the school.

Two U.S. law enforcement officials, who declined to be identified because of the government's policy not to comment on ongoing investigations, said the FBI was investigating el-Nashar's activities in the USA at the request of British authorities