Abu Hamza Trial To Begin In New York Court

Abu Hamza, a radical Islamic preacher extradited from the UK, is to go on trial in New York on charges he conspired to support al Qaeda.

The case opens later at a Manhattan federal court with jury selection, before US District Judge Katherine Forrest.

The Egyptian-born Hamza, who was indicted under the name Mustafa Kamel Mustafa, denies wrongdoing and plans to testify during the trial.

At a pre-trial hearing last week, he told the judge: "I think I am innocent. I need to go through it, have a chance to defend myself."

Hamza faces charges related to the taking of hostages in Yemen in 1998, supporting al Qaeda and advocating jihad in Afghanistan.

Prosecutors also say he tried to set up a terrorist training camp in Oregon in 1999.

Three Britons and an Australian were killed as the Yemeni military attempted to rescue the hostages. Two women, an American and a Briton, were wounded.

Officials said the hostages were seized as demands were made to release two Islamic jihad leaders.

Hamza was jailed for seven years in Britain for inciting murder and race hate.

He turned London's Finsbury Park Mosque in the 1990s into a training ground for Islamic extremists, attracting men including September 11 conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui and shoe bomber Richard Reid.

After a protracted legal battle, he was extradited to the US in October 2012.

The 55-year-old has one eye and claims to have lost his hands fighting the Soviets in Afghanistan.

Hamza's trial occurs a month after a Manhattan jury convicted Sulaiman Abu Ghaith , Osama bin Laden's son-in-law and al Qaeda's spokesman after the 2001 attacks, of charges that will likely result in a life sentence.