CONVICTED 9/11 ACCOMPLICE GETS THE BOOT

BERLIN A Moroccan man convicted of helping Mohamed Atta and the other Hamburg-based Sept. 11 suicide pilots as they plotted attacks on New York and Washington was deported Monday from Germany to his homeland.

German authorities confirmed that Mounir el Motassadeq was aboard a plane that had taken off from Frankfurt airport in the evening.

El Motassadeq was convicted of membership in a terrorist organization and accessory to the murder of the 246 passengers and crew on the four jetliners used in the 9-11 attacks in 2001.

“It’s a good feeling to know that Mr. Motassadeq is out of the country,” Hamburg’s Interior Minister Andy Grote said.

El Motassadeq was released shortly before completing his 15-year-sentence on the condition that he agreed to be deported to Morocco. That would allow Germany to re-arrest him if he ever returned.