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Polish court issues arrest warrant for US man in Nazi case

In this May 2014 photo, Michael Karkoc works in his yard in Minneapolis. Poland will seek the arrest and extradition of Karkoc, exposed by The Associated Press as a former commander in an SS-led unit that burned Polish villages and killed civilians in World War II, prosecutors said Monday, March 13, 2017. (Richard Sennott/Star Tribune via AP)
In this May 2014 photo, Michael Karkoc works in his yard in Minneapolis. Poland will seek the arrest and extradition of Karkoc, exposed by The Associated Press as a former commander in an SS-led unit that burned Polish villages and killed civilians in World War II, prosecutors said Monday, March 13, 2017. (Richard Sennott/Star Tribune via AP)

WARSAW, Poland (AP) – A court in eastern Poland has issued an arrest warrant for a Minnesota man sought in a Nazi massacre, opening the way for Poland to seek his extradition from the United States.

The Associated Press had previously identified the man as 98-year-old Michael Karkoc, an ex-commander in an SS-led unit that burned Polish villages and killed civilians in World War II.

Earlier this week, prosecutors said evidence shows that American citizen Michael K. was a commander of a unit in the SS-led Ukrainian Self Defense Legion that raided Polish villages. They sought an arrest warrant from a court in eastern Poland.

Judge Dariusz Abamowicz said Wednesday the court has issued a warrant after concluding that there is “high probability” the suspect committed war crimes listed by the prosecutors.