Al-Qaida terrorist in Belfast gets six years

AN al-Qaida suspect who downloaded bomb-making instructions to blow up an aircraft was jailed yesterday for six years at Belfast Crown Court.

The Algerian, who was tried as Abbas Boutrab, 27, has used at least seven aliases since his first known arrest in Paris 13 years ago.

But after being found guilty of possessing and collecting information connected with terrorism, Judge Mr Justice Weatherup accused him of a plot with even more chilling consequences than the decades of paramilitary violence in Northern Ireland.