JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA: A man convicted of hijacking an airliner in 1996 on its way from Madrid to Havana has been removed from the US by federal immigration officials.

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials said in a news release that officers took 47-year-old Saado Mohamed Ibrahim on Sunday from Jacksonville to Beirut, Lebanon, where he was handed over to officials.

Ibrahim was convicted of air piracy and received a 20-year prison sentence in 1997. He was being held at a federal prison in central Florida.

Prosecutors say he forced his way into the cockpit of Iberia Flight 6621 and threatened to detonate an explosive. The airplane was carrying 231 passengers.

The aircraft landed in Miami, and Ibrahim surrendered to authorities peacefully.