Millennium bombing suspect "arrested" in Algeria

Reports from Algeria say the authorities have arrested an Islamist militant wanted in the United States for alleged involvement in a plot to bomb millennium celebrations.

The official Algerian news agency said the suspect, Abdelmajid Dahoumane, was arrested on his return from Afghanistan, where he is alleged to have received training in the use of explosives and weapons.

It's not clear when the arrest took place.

Dahoumane's name surfaced this month during the trial in the United States of another Algerian national, Ahmed Ressam.

He was arrested in December 1999 on the Canadian border while driving a car loaded with explosives and bomb-making equipment . Ressam's lawyer has alleged in court that Dahoumane was the key figure behind the millennium bomb plot.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service