The murders of three Muslim men in New Mexico's largest city in the past nine months were likely linked and they appear to have been targeted for their religion and race, police said.
Two members of the same mosque were shot dead in Albuquerque in the last ten days and there is a "strong possibility" their deaths are connected to the November killing of an Afghan immigrant, according to a city police official.
In all three cases victims were ambushed and shot without warning, city police said.
