Man suspected in 1980 UN peacekeeper deaths agrees to be deported to his native Lebanon

DETROIT – A Detroit-area man suspected in the deaths of two United Nations peacekeepers in 1980 has agreed to be deported to his native Lebanon.

Mahmoud Bazzi appeared via video Monday from jail for a hearing in immigration court in Detroit. Under an agreement between his lawyer and the U.S. government, he admitted he was in the U.S. fraudulently.

As part of the agreement, Bazzi is expected to travel to Lebanon on a route that doesn't take him through Europe.

Bazzi was arrested in Dearborn in July. He was accused of immigration violations related to his arrival in the U.S. in the 1990s.

Bazzi isn't charged with killing Irish soldiers Derek Smallhorne and Thomas Barrett in Lebanon. He insists he wasn't involved. But the Irish government has expressed strong suspicions about Bazzi.