Terrorist freed after 16 years

A Palestinian terrorist who served only about half his 30-year sentence for planting three car bombs in New York City in 1973 was deported Thursday, a law enforcement official told the Associated Press.

It was unclear which country had agreed to accept Khalid Al-Jawary, now 63, who belonged to the militant group Black September. The official, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the deportation, said he didn’t know where Al-Jawary was going.

Al-Jawary was convicted in federal court of placing bombs 36 years ago that might have caused hundreds of casualties if they had detonated. They were timed to coincide with the arrival of then-Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir.

Al-Jawary was captured in 1991 and sentenced in 1993 to 30 years in prison, but he received credit for good behavior and time served.

He was released last week from the maximum-security prison in Florence, Colo., and was held by immigration officials in Denver until his deportation. Carl Rusnok, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesman, declined to say whether Al-Jawary had left the country.

Al-Jawary had many aliases and was known to use fake passports from Jordan, Iraq and France.

Intelligence officials believe that Al-Jawary has relatives in Jordan, including his wife, but it was unlikely the country would accept him given his terrorist past.

Black September was responsible for the killing of 11 Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics and other violent attacks.

The organization is named for Jordan’s crackdown on Palestinian militants in September 1970.