Slimane Khalfaoui (born 1975, Algeria) was a

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

- Algerian terrorist convicted of the

Strasbourg Cathedral bombing plot In December 2000, an al-Qaeda-linked plot to bomb the Strasbourg Christmas market, at the feet of the Strasbourg Cathedral, on New Year's Eve was discovered. The plot was foiled by French and German police after a terrorist network based in Fran ...

in 2004 and sentenced to 10 years in prison. He was married to a French-Muslim woman during his arrest.

Early life

Khalfaoui became a fugitive wanted by

French authorities The Government of France (French: ''Gouvernement français''), officially the Government of the French Republic (''Gouvernement de la République française'' ), exercises executive power in France. It is composed of the Prime Minister, who ...

in 1996 for participating in an Algerian terrorist network that plotted to carry out attacks across France and Europe. In March 1998, Khalfaoui attended

al-Qaeda Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremism, Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arab, Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military ta ...

training camps in Afghanistan with Ahmed Ressam from Montreal, Quebec, Canada and one of the members of the "millennium bombing".U.K. releases 2nd suspect linked to bin Laden
www.iht.com. 3 July 2008 He probably fought in

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and He ...

during the 1990s.

Arrest

Khalfaoui was one of the plotters of the Strasbourg Cathedral bombing plot in 2000 and was fully correlated with Abu Doha, the ringleader. Khalfaoui and Algerian-British

Rabah Kadre Rabah Kadre or Kadri (born 1967) is a former member of the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat based in Algeria. He is an alleged mastermind of the 2000 Strasbourg cathedral bombing plot in December 2000 and sentenced ''in absentia'' to 6 year ...

, participated in a reported attempt to attack the London Underground, with poisoning substances scheduled in late 2002. He was arrested in France by French police in November 2002 following the arrest of Kadre in London by

British police Law enforcement in the United Kingdom is organised separately in each of the legal systems of the United Kingdom: England and Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland. Most law enforcement is carried out by police officers serving in regional po ...

on the same day. When the French police came to arrest him, he tried to escape from a second-floor window during an early morning raid at his sister's apartment in the Paris suburb east of Montfermeil, but he was overpowered and arrested a few minutes later.

2004 Trial

Khalfaoui was charged and brought to trial alongside

Mohammed Bensakhria Mohamed Bensakhria is an Algerian citizen, sentenced in France to 10 years in prison for his role in the 2000 Strasbourg Cathedral bombing plot on December 16, 2004. He is suspected of having had close links to Osama bin Laden. He was arrested i ...

and four more defendants at a French court in October 2004. Khalfaoui was sentenced to 10 years in jail in December 2004 for his role in the

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Khalfaoui, Slimane French al-Qaeda members Algerian emigrants to France Terrorism in Algeria Algerian al-Qaeda members 1975 births Living people Islamic terrorism in Algeria Islamic terrorism in France