Canada links Egyptian to embassy bombings

Some 224 people were killed in the two bombings

Canada's intelligence service is reported to have evidence linking an Egyptian refugee living in Toronto to a militant Islamic network implicated in the 1998 bombings of the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.

Mahmoud Jaballah is named in court documents released on Monday as a member of an Egyptian group known as Al Jihad, one of whose leaders is a close associate of Osama bin Laden.

Al Jihad has links to Osama bin Laden

The group is accused of having played a key role in the embassy attacks which killed more than 200 people.

Mr Jaballah was arrested two weeks ago following an investigation by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS).

He is currently wanted by the Egyptian Government for his alleged involvement in terrorism.

Persecution claims

Mr Jaballah, who first went to Canada five years ago, had been working as a teacher at a Muslim school in Toronto.

He had been claiming asylum in Canada as a refugee, saying that he had been persecuted and tortured in Egypt for his strong religious beliefs.

The documents allege that Mr Jaballah has links to a number of leading members of Al Jihad both in Canada and abroad, including Adil Abd Al Bara, who is accused by the US of having a major role in the embassy bombings.

Deportation threat

In a 21-page document the authorities allege that Mr Jaballah "is a member of Al Jihad and that he has supported and will engage in terrorism".

If the CSIS's evidence is upheld by a Canadian federal court, he faces deportation to Egypt.

Mr Jaballah has been arrested on similar charges before, in 1999, but the judge at that time threw out the case saying there was insufficient evidence against him.