“Hicham Harb was extradited by the Palestinian National Authority on Thursday, in response to a request last September by France's National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor's Office (PNAT).”

“Harb, whose real name is Mahmoud Khader Abed Adra, is suspected of directing the attack in the Rue des Rosiers and acting as one of the gunmen who shot at diners.”

“On arrival at the Villacoublay air force base near Paris, Harb was placed in detention, PNAT said.”

“Last year, France's highest judicial court, the Court of Cassation, ordered a trial for six suspects, of whom three are in absentia and living in the West Bank, Jordan and Kuwait.”

“The Rue des Rosiers attack was blamed on a Palestinian splinter group founded by notorious militant Abu Nidal, who was shot dead in Iraq in 2002.”

“Nidal's organisation broke away from the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and was blamed for a string of deadly attacks that claimed 900 lives, mostly in the 1980s, including assassinations, plane hijackings and shootings at airports and on a Greek cruise ship.”