MIAMI -- Two men, both with South Florida ties and both accused of possible terrorism involvement, have now also been linked to each other.

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AG: South Florida Terror Suspects May Have Worked Together

Deputy Attorney General James Comey said Tuesday that terrorism suspect Adnan el Shukrijumah (pictured, left) was at one time partnered with dirty bomb suspect Jose Padilla.

According to a letter from Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz to Comey, Padilla was directed to participate in "an operation to blow up apartment buildings in the United States with natural gas." The cities they reportedly intended to target were New York, Washington and Miami.

Comey said that Padilla was supposed to work with al Qaida operative Shukrijumah, but because they couldn't get along and Padilla couldn't complete the operation alone, the plan to blow up buildings was abandoned. The men are believed to have met in South Florida, but the duration and specifics of their relationship were not discussed. Both men lived in Broward County and attended prayers at the same mosque in Pembroke Pines.

The FBI said last week that they think el Shukrijumah may be the leader of a terrorist cell. El Shukrijumah used to live in Miramar and his parents still live there. He attended Broward Community College in 1997. He was one of seven terrorism suspects named by the FBI. U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft said el Shukrijumah is considered the "most dangerous" of the seven.

Ashcroft said el Shukrijumah "scouted sites across America that might be vulnerable to terrorist attack."

A new report released Tuesday by the Justice Department said that Padilla also scouted locations to attack with a dirty bomb.

Padilla (pictured, right) converted to Islam after he moved to Broward County. He studied the Koran at a mosque in Pembroke Pines in 1995 and 1996. Padilla eventually moved to Egypt to teach, changed his name to Abdullah al Muhajir.

According to the Justice Department document, top al-Qaida officials "wanted Padilla to hit targets in New York City, although Florida and Washington, D.C. were discussed as well."

The FBI arrested Padilla in May 2002 as he returned from a trip to Pakistan. The U.S. government has designated Padilla an "enemy combatant."

Miami FBI spokesperson Judy Orihuela said Tuesday that right now the FBI thinks Shukrijumah is living overseas. He was last spotted six months ago in Guyana.