WASHINGTON -- A shadowy Islamic militant accused by federal authorities as a mastermind in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing was arrested yesterday in Pakistan and flown to New York last night, where he was held as one of world's most sought-after terrorist suspects.
The suspect, Ramzi Ahmed Yousef, an Iraqi citizen whom the authorities accused of buying and brewing the explosive chemicals used to manufacture the huge World Trade Center bomb, fled the country soon after the deadly blast on Feb. 26, 1993.
With his name on the FBI's Most Wanted List, he dropped from sight, eluding a global manhunt. But in recent months he had been reported sighted in several cities around the globe.
In January, the FBI picked up Mr. Yousef's trail in the Philippines, where the local police connected him to a failed plot against the pope during his recent visit there, U.S. officials said.
The FBI hurriedly dispatched agents to give chase, but Mr. Yousef apparently slipped out of the country before the investigators could locate him.
In recent weeks he re-emerged in Pakistan. He was arrested in Islamabad after Pakistani authorities picked up a tip to his whereabouts and captured him in a surprise raid.
Later, he was turned over to the FBI and was flown to New York aboard a government aircraft. He will be arraigned today in federal court in Manhattan.
Underscoring Mr. Yousef's importance to the World Trade Center case, President Clinton issued a statement last night BTC saying that the Iraqi was in custody in Manhattan and described him as a crucial figure in the 1993 bombing.
"This arrest is a major step forward in the fight against terrorism," Mr. Clinton said. "Terrorism will not pay. Terrorists will pay."
Mr. Yousef, who is 27, was first indicted on March 11, 1993 along with four co-defendants. Those four were tried, convicted and sentenced to 240 years in prison without the possibility of parole. Mr. Yousef was charged with 11 felony counts that could, if he is tried and found guilty, lead to life in prison without parole.