Suspect faces US terror charges

WASHINGTON -- An Iraqi-born Dutch citizen pleaded not guilty yesterday in what the Justice Department called the first US terror charges against insurgents targeting Americans in Iraq.

Wesam al-Delaema, 33, has been wanted by the United States since 2003, when he and his fellow "Mujahideen from Fallujah" videotaped themselves planting explosives along a road in Iraq used by US troops. The explosives did not result in any deaths.

He was extradited from the Netherlands over the weekend after being held there for nearly two years, and will become the first suspect tried in a US court for alleged terrorism in Iraq's bloody insurgency.

"After a lengthy extradition process, this defendant will now face justice for his efforts in orchestrating and launching roadside bomb attacks against our men and women serving in Iraq," Assistant Attorney General Kenneth Wainstein said yesterday.

Delaema has said he is not guilty, and his lawyers have argued the United States does not have the right to try him. He spoke in broken English with his attorneys during a 10-minute hearing in front of US District Judge Paul Friedman in Washington. Prosecutor Gregg Maisel said the government would be seeking hair and saliva samples from Delaema, which the Justice Department said could link him to the crimes.

As part of the extradition deal with the Netherlands, Justice Department spokesman Dean Boyd said that Delaema will be tried in a federal court -- not by a military commission such as those set up for terror suspects being held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The United States will also not oppose Delaema serving in a Dutch prison if he is convicted, Boyd said.