Egypt frees man mistakenly listed as al-Qaida
Mar 1, 2012, 8:31 PM
CAIRO (AP) – Egypt’s state news agency says authorities have released a former Egyptian jihadist who returned home to clear a case of mistaken identity that confused him with a senior al-Qaida leader.
The name of Mohammed Ibrahim Makkawi, who returned to Egypt from Pakistan on Wednesday, appears on the FBI list of most wanted terrorists as an alias for the senior al-Qaida figure known as Saif al-Adel. He’s an Egyptian indicted by the United States for his alleged role in the Aug. 7, 1998, bombings of U.S. Embassies in Tanzania and Kenya that killed 224 people.
Makkawi was cleared on Thursday and freed by Egypt’s general prosecutor, who said Mekkawi is not wanted, MENA said.
Upon arrival, Makkawi said he cut his relations with al-Qaida in 1989.
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