Britain extradites suspect in al-qaida bomb plot

Plan allegedly targeted New York City subway

WASHINGTON • Police in Britain have extradited a terror suspect to the United States to face charges that he took part in an alleged alQaida plot to detonate explosives aboard the New York City subway system.

British authorities handed over Abid Naseer, 26, to U.S. authorities on Thursday.

Prosecutors want Naseer to stand trial in New York for his alleged role in a terror campaign that would have also struck targets in Britain and Norway.

Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn have said they aim to prove that Naseer collected bomb ingredients, conducted reconnaissance and was in frequent contact with other alQaida operatives as part of a foiled New York plot and a second suspected plot to bomb a busy shopping area in the northern English city of Manchester.

If convicted in the U.S., Naseer would face a maximum penalty of life in prison.

Naseer was one of 12 people arrested in a counterterrorism operation in April 2009, but all were subsequently released without charge. They were ordered to leave Britain, but Naseer escaped deportation to Pakistan after a judge ruled it was likely he would be mistreated if he were sent home.

Naseer was re-arrested in July 2010 at the request of the prosecutors in Brooklyn, where a federal indictment named him as a co-defendant with Adis Medunjanin.

In January 2011, a British judge approved Naseer’s extradition.