DATE=12/18/1999
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=U-S TERRORISM (L-ONLY)
NUMBER=2-257271
BYLINE=MICHAEL O'SULLIVAN
DATELINE=LOS ANGELES
CONTENT=

VOICED AT:


INTRO: U-S authorities have charged a man with 
bringing explosive materials into the United States. 
Authorities in the northwestern U-S city of Seattle are 
trying to determine if the man -- who is said to be of 
Algerian descent -- was planning a millennium terrorist 
attack.   Mike O'Sullivan has details from our West 
Coast bureau.

TEXT:  Officials say the man carried two jars of 
explosive nitroglycerin and more than 50 kilograms 
of other potentially explosive material in his rented 
car, which  authorities seized several days ago at the 
U-S-Canadian border.  The man, who is  identified as
Ahmed Ressam, was also charged with having false 
identification and making false statements to U-S 
customs officials.

Friday, a judge ordered the destruction of the liquid 
nitroglycerin near the town of Port Angeles, where the 
man entered the United States on a ferry from Victoria, 
Canada.   The judge rejected a request from defense 
lawyers that the material be tested, citing safety 
concerns.

Officials say the suspect had reserved a motel room in 
downtown Seattle, near the site of a planned New Year's 
Eve millennium celebration.  

According to court papers, he had an airline reservation 
from Seattle to New York and a ticket for a connecting 
flight to London.

/// REST OPT 

Authorities say  Mr. Ressam carried a Canadian passport 
and two driver's licenses, each in a different name.  
They say he became nervous when questioned about the 
roundabout route he took from Vancouver to Seattle by 
way of the island city of Victoria.  When customs 
inspectors searched his rented car, he fled on foot 
but was caught a few blocks from the scene.  

Officials say in addition to liquid nitroglycerin, 
they found more than 50 kilograms of urea, a substance 
used to make fertilizer and explosives.  They say they
also found another crystalline power, batteries and timing 
devices. 

The judge scheduled a hearing in the case for next 
Wednesday.  (Signed)


 



18-Dec-1999 00:45 AM EDT (18-Dec-1999 0545 UTC)
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Source: Voice of America
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