Iranian Woman Crawls To Safety After Attack

An Iranian woman escaped from a burning Middle Eastern restaurant where she had been bound, gagged and left to die in what authorities said was a hate crime that followed weeks of harassment.

Family members said a swastika was carved into the abdomen of Zhaleh Sarabakhsh, but authorities said Tuesday the overlapping slash marks may have been a cross.

Sarabakhsh, 38, crawled to safety after her assailants bound her hands and feet, covered her mouth with tape and set a fire in the Kabob House Middle Eastern restaurant Monday night, police Lt. Marv Huckle said.

She told authorities she did not see her assailants, who attacked her from behind while she was working.

The FBI is investigating.