2011-01-20 09:40

VANCOUVER - Canadian police have arrested a man accused of helping stage suicide bomb attacks in Iraq, including one that killed five US soldiers, officials said on Wednesday.

The man, identified by Canadian authorities as Sayfildin Tahir Sharif, was arrested in Edmonton, Alberta at the request of the United States, which wants to extradite him to New York to face terrorism charges.

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Canadian police said he was a Canadian citizen, but did not say how long he had been living in Canada.

Sharif was also known as Faruq Khalil Muhammad Isa, and used at least two other names, according to US officials.

Sharif worked with a Tunisian group which staged a number of suicide bomb attacks in Iraq, including one at a US base in Mosul that killed five soldiers in April 2009, according to the US Justice Department.

He is also accused of helping with an attack on an Iraqi police station in March 2009 that killed seven people.

US authorities said he had been recorded in Canadian wiretaps discussing the results of attacks with other members of the group based in Iraq and wanted to become a suicide bomber himself.

US authorities said Sharif has been charged with conspiracy to kill Americans and providing material support to a terrorism network.