2nd Terror Suspect Released in Britain

by Jarrett Martineau | July 3, 2008 at 04:53 pm

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A suspected terrorist with "direct links" to Al-Qaeda, and held in a British jail since 1999 for allegedly planning to bomb Los Angeles International Airport, has been released on bail. The name of the man, of Algerian origin, has not been released.

LONDON — A 45-year-old Algerian described by American prosecutors as the mastermind of an abortive plot to bomb Los Angeles International Airport during millennium celebrations in 1999 has been released on tight bail conditions after seven years in British jails, court officials said Thursday.
The release of the unnamed Algerian is the second time in a little more than two weeks that a suspect named by prosecutors as having close ties to Osama bin Laden, but not charged, has been freed on bail in Britain pending a final court ruling on government deportation proceedings.

In June, a 47-year-old Palestinian with Jordanian citizenship, described as having had a major ideological influence within Al Qaeda’s European ranks, was released after seven years in jail. That suspect, known by the alias Abu Qatada, was placed under house arrest for 22 hours a day.