A terrorist attack on the United States of America was stopped in its tracks

Prosecutor Andrew Hamilton

In addition to conspiracy, the court found him guilty of placing explosives close to a ferry terminal, using false identification documents, and several other related explosives-handling charges.

Authorities said it was unclear whether the bombs were intended for four different targets or whether they were intended to be set off in rapid succession in or around the same target.

Millennium celebrations in Seattle were cancelled as a precaution after police found that Mr Ressam had reserved a motel room near the city's landmark Space Needle.

'Inconclusive' evidence

Defence lawyers accepted the explosives and false identification charges, but said evidence linking him to a wider conspiracy was inconclusive and subject to "innuendo, speculation and sensationalism."

US officials suspect Osama Bin Laden's involvement

Attorney Jo Ann Oliver described Mr Ressam as "not a smooth operator."

She went on to suggest that Mr Ressam's actions were masterminded by an accomplice, Abdelmajid Dahoumane, who was recently arrested in Algeria.

On Friday, Mr Ressam was given a five-year sentence by a French court, where he had been tried in absentia on separate charges of belonging to a network of Islamic militant groups.

US investigators believe Mr Ressam attended militant training camps in Afghanistan, and may have links to Osama Bin Laden, the alleged mastermind of two bombings of US embassies in Africa in 1998.

Despite these allegations, Judge John Coughenour had banned prosecutors from mentioning Mr Bin Laden's name during the US trial.

Mr Ressam is due to be sentenced on 28 June in Seattle, from where Judge Coughenour moved the trial due to publicity and security concerns.