Radical cleric deported from Kenya

A radical Muslim cleric who was once jailed in Britain for inciting murder and racial hatred was deported from Kenya to the West African nation of Gambia today, an official said.

Sheik Abdullah el-Faisal left on a Kenya Airways flight to Nigeria, where he will take a connecting flight to Banjul, Gambia.

He was arrested outside a mosque in the coastal city of Mombasa for violating the terms of his visa.

He had been stuck in Kenya after nations including Britain, South Africa and Tanzania refused to let him pass through their countries.

El-Faisal once led a London mosque attended by convicted terrorists Richard Reid and Zacarias Moussaoui.

He is also blamed for heavily influencing a suicide bomber who took part in attacks on the UK capital's transport network in July 2005 in which 52 people were killed.

El-Faisal once served four years in a British prison for inciting murder and stirring racial hatred.

The head of Jamaica's Muslim community expressed alarm yesterday over the pending return of el-Faisal.

Mustafa Muhammad said he would encourage Jamaica's Muslims to "pay close attention to anything that raises alarms" if el-Faisal returned.