London – A Pakistani man accused by British authorities of being an al-Qaida operative who took part in a plot to bomb US and English targets was extradited from Britain to the United States on Thursday to face terrorism charges.
Subscribe to our Daily Roundup Email
Abid Naseer, 26, was one of a dozen men arrested in April 2009 on suspicion of preparing to cause mass casualties by bombing Manchester city center in northern England.
He and the other suspects were never charged, but Britain said in addition to the alleged Manchester plot, Naseer was part of a wider al-Qaida cell bent on staging attacks in the United States and Norway.
On Thursday, he was taken by counter-terrorism police from a high security prison in east London to Luton airport, north of the British capital, and handed over to US officials.
He is wanted for trial in the United States for his alleged role in planned suicide bomb attacks on New York City subways in 2009, for which a number of men have already been convicted.
He faces three charges: providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization; conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization; and conspiracy to use a destructive device.
Naseer and 11 others, mostly students from Pakistan, were arrested in daylight raids in 2009 after Britain’s most senior counter-terrorism officer was photographed openly carrying details about the operation.