Canada deports Algerian terrorist suspect

OTTAWA - An Algerian terrorist suspect in Canada has been extradited back to his home country after being held in custody for more than four years here.

    Samir Ait Mohamed was deported to Algeria on Wednesday, the Canadian Broadcasting Cooperation (CBC) reported on Friday.

    Mohamed is believed to be an associate of "Millennium bomber" Ahmed Ressam, who is now serving a 22-year sentence in a U.S. prison for plotting to bomb Los Angeles airport.

    In December 1999, Ressam, an Algerian who lived in Montreal, was stopped at the U.S.-Canadian border after more than 100 pounds(about 45 kilograms) of bomb making material was found in his car.

    Ressam admitted he was planning to set off a large bomb at Los Angeles International Airport on New Year's Day, 2000.

    He said he had received terrorist training at al-Qaida camps in Afghanistan and had then been instructed to go abroad and kill U.S. civilians and military personnel.

    Canadian officials alleged Mohamed and Ressam planned to bomb the Montreal neighborhood of Outremont because of its large Jewish population, CBC said.

    Ressam told U.S. prosecutors that Mohamed was a friend who had given him a gun, as well as a fake credit card to purchase bomb materials.

    He also claimed that Mohamed worked with him in planning to bomb Outremont.

    The United States tried to extradite Mohamed, but the case fell apart when Ressam reneged on a promise to testify against his friend.

    Mohamed tried to gain refugee status in Canada, saying he would be killed if he was sent home. But officials from the Canada Border Services Agency refused him entry on the grounds that he was a danger to the public.

    "He had an effective removal order against him, he had a legal deportation order against him, there was no legal prohibition to remove him, and we were of the opinion that he was a danger to the public," said Janis Fergusson, a spokesperson for the agency.

    Mohamed had been held at a Vancouver remand center for four-and-a-half years without charge.

News Agencies