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Zambia to send bomb suspect to UK
SPECIAL REPORT
YOUR E-MAIL ALERTSLUSAKA, Zambia (CNN) -- Zambian government officials say they have entered into an agreement with Britain to extradite Rashid Haroon Aswat, a suspected al Qaeda operative believed to have facilitated or recruited the July 7 London transport bombers. Aswat, 30, a British-born citizen of Indian heritage, was arrested on July 20 in Zambia. He is also wanted in the United States in connection with two active terrorism cases. Zambia's decision appeared to settle a behind-the-scenes battle between British and American officials over legal custody to Aswat. According to the Zambian officials, their nation has signed extradition papers, but is delaying the move to allow FBI agents in Zambia to question Aswat. Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York have a sealed arrest warrant for Aswat and there were contingency plans in place to bring him back to the United States, according to law enforcement sources. "It looks like he is going to the UK," one law enforcement source said. Aswat is an alleged conspirator in the Oregon "jihad" camp case. He allegedly scouted land, planned training, and screened recruits for the never-built camp, according to the indictment of a Seattle man, James Ujaama, who eventually pleaded guilty to related charges two years ago. Prosecutors also alleged a link between Aswat and another alleged conspirator in the Ujamma case, Abu Hamza el-Masri, a radical Muslim cleric with alleged al Qaeda ties who is under indictment in New York. Abu Hamza is incarcerated in Britain, where he is being prosecuted for inciting murder and terrorism-related charges. Abu Hamza's preliminary hearings began July 5, two days before the first London bombings. His trial is set for January. Aswat hails from the town of Batley, England, near Leeds, where three of the four July 7 bombers grew up. His family has recently said they have not seen him for 10 years. The bombings on three Underground trains and a bus killed 52 people as well as the four bombers. A spokesman for the British Foreign Ministry said British officials have not had consular access to Aswat to check his identity, his health, his conditions of incarceration, and whether he needs a lawyer. The Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said if there were an interrogation ongoing in Zambia, British officials were not part of it. 
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