The United States is seeking to extradite a German convict who allegedly gave al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden critical support before the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, New York prosecutors said Wednesday.

Department of Justice officials accused Christian Ganczarski of conspiracy to kill US citizens, providing material support to terrorists and conspiracy to provide material support to al-Qaida.

Ganczarski, who was born in Poland and later converted to Islam, allegedly met multiple times with senior leaders of the terrorist organization between 1999 and 2001 and developed close personal ties with bin Laden.

Read more: Six years since bin Laden's death, al Qaeda weakened - but not finished

He "had been aware that a significant event was about to occur" while he was in Germany shortly before the September 11 attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people.

9/11 Museum opens An unsettling journey Cards and mementos of those who died at Ground Zero on September 11, 2001, are a tiny part of the many heart-wrenching personal items, photos, burnt and twisted vehicles on display at the new National September 11 Memorial & Museum in New York.

9/11 Museum opens Monument to resilience The museum houses more than 10,000 artifacts and was built where the Twin Towers once stood near a permanent memorial that opened three years ago. It opens to the general public on May 21, and will be open to victims' families, survivors, first responders, workers, and local residents for a six-day dedication period beforehand.

9/11 Museum opens Descent into the dark The salvaged girders from the World Trade Center rise into the museum's airy entrance pavilion. The rest of the impressive museum space is below ground, with ramps that lead visitors on an emotional journey that retraces the tragedy.

9/11 Museum opens Plunge into chaos Photographs and videos document the events of that day, showing images of the towers collapsing and people falling from them. Voices heard in a darkened room express the shock and horror.

9/11 Museum opens Mangled remains What is left of a television and radio antenna from the North Tower bears testimony to the brutality of the suicide attack on that fateful day almost 13 years ago.

9/11 Museum opens Frantic flight Heartbreaking items, like the dust-covered shoes of those who fled the skyscrapers' collapse, are arranged in display cases.

9/11 Museum opens Heroic efforts A firetruck with a twisted ladder commemorates the sacrifices of 343 firefighters who died in the deluge of fire and steel that accompanied the towers' collapse.

9/11 Museum opens Survivors' stairs Dark corridors are filled with the voices of people remembering the chaos of 9/11 as visitors walk past the battered "survivors' staircase" from a nearby street that hundreds used to escape the burning towers.

9/11 Museum opens The hijackers The visit ends in a room where a video explains the rise of al-Qaeda. Some critics have expressed concern it could lead museum visitors to associate the terrorist group with Islam in general.

9/11 Museum opens The power of memory President Barack Obama and a group of survivors and victims' families marked the opening of the museum. Obama is mindful of "the need to remember and the power of memory in a nation's history, as well as the need to properly grieve and rebuild," White House spokesman Jay Carney said. Author: Dagmar Breitenbach



Ganczarski also provided al-Qaida "with the knowledge and technology to carry out attacks against the US military and its allies," US Attorney Dana Boente said, and lived in al-Qaida camps while planning bomb attacks against US embassies in Africa.

Read more: Opinion: September 11 was a historic turning point

Imprisoned in France

Ganczarski is currently serving an 18-year prison sentence in France after a Paris court found him guilty of plotting a 2002 bomb attack that killed 21 people, including 14 German tourists, at a synagogue in Tunisia.

He injured three guards at a prison in northern France last week with a pair of scissors and a razor blade after hearing he could be extradited to the US.

If convicted in the US, he could face a maximum sentence of life in prison.

Read: #NeverForget: The United States remembers 9/11 attacks

Watch video 03:11 Share @dwnews: CIA re-enacts Osama bin Laden's death Send Facebook google+ Whatsapp Tumblr linkedin stumble Digg reddit Newsvine Permalink https://p.dw.com/p/1IglT @dwnews: CIA re-enacts Osama bin Laden's death

amp/rc (dpa, AP, AFP)