WASHINGTON -- U.S. authorities have brought the first Guantanamo Bay detainee to the United States, flying him into New York to face trial for bombing U.S. embassies, the Justice Department said Tuesday.

Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani is seen in an undated photo provided by the U.S. District Attorney's office. (AP File)

The department said Ahmed Ghailani arrived in the early morning hours Tuesday, to be held in U.S. law enforcement custody until his trial in federal court in lower Manhattan. Ghailani was expected to make his initial appearance in Manhattan federal court later Tuesday.

Ghailani was indicted in 1998 for the Al Qaeda bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, attacks which killed more than 224 people, including 12 Americans.

U.S. officials charge Ghailani began his terrorist career on a bicycle delivering bomb parts and rose through the Al Qaeda ranks to become a bodyguard to Usama bin Laden.