An Iraqi-born Palestinian accused of trying to bomb three Israeli-owned businesses in New York in 1973 has been extradited to the United States from Italy, the FBI said Monday.
The announcement coincided with the arraignment in federal court in New York on Monday of the suspect, Khalid Duhan al-Jawary, 46.
The explosive devices, which failed to detonate because of faulty fuses, were set to coincide with the visit of then-Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir, the bureau said in a statement.
In January 1991, Italian agents arrested Jawary, who was using an alias, after FBI fingerprints identified him as a wanted fugitive.
In 1987, FBI agents arrested another wanted Middle Easterner, Fawaz Younis, who was taken into custody in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. After being brought to the United States on charges of participating in the 1985 hijacking of a Jordanian airliner, Younis was sentenced to 30 years in prison.
FBI Director William Sessions said the capture of Jawary shows that the United States is dedicated to bringing to justice those who attempt terrorist acts here, “no matter where or how long the search may take.”
A U.S. indictment charged Jawary with leaving two powerful bombs in the trunks of rented cars outside Israel Discount Bank and First Israeli Bank and Trust in Manhattan in March 1973.
A third bomb, more powerful than the other two, was similarly found in a rented car parked outside an El Al warehouse near Kennedy Airport.
The fingerprints found in all the cars matched those found in a hotel room Jawary had taken.
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