US picks up six of 11 missing Egyptian students

CHICAGO, Aug 10 (Reuters) Six of 11 Egyptian students who failed to turn up as scheduled for a Montana university exchange program last week have been apprehended and authorities said today none of them posed a terror threat.

The six were either taken into custody or turned themselves in to authorities in Minneapolis, Chicago, suburban Maryland, and a town in New Jersey.

''There is no terror threat'' from the students, who were in their early 20s, said Tim Counts, a spokesman with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, an agency within the Department of Homeland Security.

The government will seek to have them deported, he added.

An alert went out last week for the students after they did not show up as scheduled for an academic program at Montana State University in Bozeman, the agency said.

Chicago police detained Ahmed Ela, 22, at O'Hare International Airport today as he was attempting to book a flight to Montana. Some of the others were apprehended at private residences.

All US airports were on a state of heightened alert following the thwarted UK airline bomb plot.

Authorities were looking for the remaining five students.

Those in custody were held on violations of their temporary student visas.

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