DATE=1/3/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=U-S TERRORISM ARREST (S-L)
NUMBER=2-257746
BYLINE=ALISHA RYU
DATELINE=LOS ANGELES
CONTENT=

Intro:   Authorities in (the Western U-S city of) 
Seattle are holding another Algerian national in 
connection with last month's attempt to smuggle 
explosives into the United States.  V-O-A's Alisha Ryu 
has the latest from our West Coast Bureau.  

Text:   Federal authorities say they arrested Abdel 
Hakim Tizegha (pronounced tee-zah'-ga) on December 
24th somewhere in western Washington state.  He has 
been in the custody of the Immigration and 
Naturalization Service and the FBI, suspected of 
having ties to Ahmed Ressam.   Mr. Ressam was arrested 
last month at the U-S Canadian border town of Port 
Angeles, Washington in a car laden with bomb-making 
materials.  He has been charged with attempting to 
illegally transport explosives.

Mr. Ressam's arrest triggered an intense international 
investigation as officials tried to determine his role 
in a feared terrorist plot to plant bombs at New 
Year's Eve celebrations.  

Federal prosecutors in Seattle say Mr. Tizegha will be 
charged with illegally entering the United States.  If 
he is found to have ties to Mr. Ressam, he may face 
additional conspiracy and bomb-related charges.

            /// REST OPT FOR LONG VERSION ///

Last Thursday in New York, anti-terrorism agents 
arrested a third Algerian national -- Abdel Ghani -- 
who is alleged to have traveled to Seattle on December 
11th to meet Mr. Ressam.
 
Lucy Garafalo, picked up by authorities as she entered 
the United States a few days after Mr. Ressam's 
arrest, has already been linked to Mr. Ressam.  
Prosecutors in Vermont say they belonged to the same 
cell of the Armed Islamic Group, an extremist faction 
thought to be responsible for attacks in Algeria and 
France during the 1990s. 

An arrest warrant is still out for Abdelmajed 
Dahoumane, who is alleged to have been Mr. Ressam's 
accomplice. (Signed)

NEB/ar/gm



03-Jan-2000 20:02 PM EDT (04-Jan-2000 0102 UTC)
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Source: Voice of America
.