First Gitmo Detainee Coming to US for Trial

A top al-Qaeda suspect held at Guantanamo Bay will be sent to New York for trial, an Obama administration official said. Ahmed Ghailani would be the first Guantanamo detainee brought to the US, and the first to face trial in a civilian criminal court. Ghailani has been indicted in the 1998 bombings of US embassies in Africa that killed 224 people, including 12 Americans.

Ghailani, a Tanzanian, was captured in Pakistan in 2004 and transferred to Gitmo two years later. The anonymous official said the administration plans to announce tomorrow morning that Ghailani will be brought to trial for the embassy attacks. The AP reported in March that Ghailani was among a handful of high-value suspects that prosecutors were considering bringing to trial on charges that predate the 9/11 attacks. (More Guantanamo prisoners stories.)