LONDON — Five terrorism suspects, including the fiery Islamic preacher Abu Hamza al-Masri, were sent to the United States on Friday night to face an array of terrorism charges. Their extradition came after a British court ruled they had exhausted their final appeal, ending years of legal battles that tested the balance between civil liberties and national security.

The Home Office reported that the five men had left in two jets from Royal Air Force Base Mildenhall in Suffolk. They had been taken there earlier Friday from the Long Lartin prison in a police convoy that included two armored vans and a minivan with blacked-out windows. Home Secretary Theresa May said in a statement that British and American authorities had worked together “to put plans in place so that tonight these men could be handed over within hours of the court’s decision.”

Mr. Masri, 54, has been an object of fascination in this country. Hook-handed and one-eyed because of injuries caused by explosives many years ago, he attracted a following among militants as much as he drew the reproach of his foes and the attention of the British security services.