Algerian suspected of planning LA bombing
2001-01-21 14:25
Los Angeles - An Algerian accused of plotting terrorist attacks in the United States could have planned to bomb Los Angeles International Airport or another airport nearby, according to a published report.
The Los Angeles Times, quoting federal prosecutors, reported that
after Ahmed Ressam's arrest on 14 December 1999, in Washington
state, Canadian authorities seized a map from his former Montreal
apartment that had circles drawn around three Los Angeles-area
airports.
US authorities also allegedly found large amounts of explosives and several timing devices in Ressam's car when he was arrested at a border post while trying to enter the United States from Canada.
"It is quite possible a reasonable person would conclude that one or more of these airports may have been an ultimate target of this conspiracy," federal prosecutor Francis J Diskin wrote in
documents filed on 11 January in US District Court in Seattle,
Washington.
The documents also said Ressam had a French guidebook to California with him when he was arrested.
Ressam has been charged with conspiring to bring explosives into the United States and conspiring to damage or destroy people or
buildings in this country.
Authorities have not revealed where they thought Ressam and at
least three alleged associates were planning to launch attacks.
Speculation that Seattle was the target prompted the city's mayor
to cancel events planned for New Year's Eve a year ago. - Sapa-AFP
- SAPA