Guilty plea in New York subway bomb plot

[Laaloo]

A New York man has pleaded guilty to terror charges in connection with a plot to set off suicide bombs in the city's subway system. Zarein Ahmedzay admitted conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction and providing support to al-Qaeda, in a plea entered in a court in New York. He was a classmate of Afghan immigrant Najibullah Zazi, who pleaded guilty to his role in the plot last month. US officials have called it one of the most serious threats since 9/11. 'Meeting with leaders' Ahmedzay, 25, originally entered a not guilty plea after his arrest in January. He was picked up with another classmate, Adis Medunjanin, who is facing similar charges. Prosecutors say the three were planning an attack on city subway lines last September under the direction of al-Qaeda that would have been similar to the 2005 attacks on public transit in London, which killed more than 50 people. Ahmedzay pleaded guilty at Brooklyn federal court. Prosecutors have said Ahmedzay, Zazi and Mr Medunjanin all travelled to Pakistan in 2008 to look for terrorism training. At the Brooklyn hearing, Assistant US Attorney Geoffrey Knox said the plotters had met two senior al-Qaeda operatives who ordered them to carry out the suicide bombings. Mr Knox identified the leaders as Saleh al-Somali and Rashid Rauf, both of whom were killed in Pakistan over the past year. Zazi is a Colorado airport van driver who had pleaded guilty to testing bomb-making equipment in Denver and then travelling to New York to take part in the plot. The scheme was said to have been uncovered when police stopped Zazi's car as he entered the city. Ahmedzay and Zazi are of Afghan origin and Mr Medunjanin is originally from Bosnia. Ahmedzay and Mr Medunjanin are US citizens. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8641221.stm Is anyone else surprised where they were trained? I wonder who's behind this? Heera Lal? Jews? Amerikans? Bush?

[Clarke]

Ahmedzay, Zazi and Mr Medunjanin all travelled to Pakistan in 2008 to look for terrorism training.

:hehe:

[Laaloo]

Surprise Surprise FBI arrests three over New York bomb inquiry Agents arrested three men and are searching locations in four states US authorities investigating the attempted bombing in New York's Times Square have arrested three men during searches over four US states. The justice department said they were being held over alleged immigration violations after raids in Maine, New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts. The US attorney general said the three were linked to a man already charged with the attempted attack on 1 May. Pakistani-born US citizen Faisal Shazhad, 30, lived in Connecticut. There's at least a basis to believe that one of the things that they did was provide him with funds and so we're trying to trace back Eric Holder US attorney general Authorities say he has waived his US legal rights and is co-operating with federal officials. Two of the men were arrested in suburbs outside Boston, Massachusetts, and a third in Maine. A law enforcement official told the Associated Press news agency that two of the men taken into custody from a house near Boston, Massachusetts, were from Pakistan. The official said one of the men had been arrested because he had overstayed his visa. The second had already been awaiting a ruling from an immigration court hearing on whether he would be removed from the country. Attorney General Eric Holder said in Washington: "These are people who are connected to Mr Shahzad, we're still trying to determine exactly what the nature of that connection was. "There's at least a basis to believe that one of the things that they did was provide him with funds and so we're trying to trace back." He called the arrests a "significant" step. 'No immediate threat' In its statement on the latest arrests, the FBI said it could "confirm that search warrants have been executed in several locations in the North-east in connection with the investigation into the attempted Times Square bombing". Faisal Shazhad, 30, has already been charged with the attempted bombing It added: "This search is the product of evidence that has been gathered in the investigation subsequent to the attempted Times Square bombing and [does] not relate to any known immediate threat to the public or active plot against the United States." The FBI is carrying out search warrants at locations around Boston, Massachusetts, Cherry Hill and Camden in New Jersey, and Centerreach and Shirley in New York. Police have also cordoned off a house in Watertown, Massachusetts, a Boston suburb. Vinny Lacerra, who lives across the street from the house concerned, said he had heard someone yell "FBI! Put your hands up!" at 0600 local time (1100 GMT). Mr Lacerra told the Associated Press he had seen 15 to 20 FBI agents with their guns drawn outside the house. He then saw a man taken out of the building in handcuffs about 15 minutes later. Agents have also recovered a Honda car from a Mobil petrol station on Harvard Street in Brookline, Massachusetts, another suburb of Boston. The vehicle is reportedly linked to the address in Watertown, Massachusetts. Dean Boyd of the justice department said the searches were the result of evidence collected during a 13-day investigation. Mr Shazhad has told officials he acted alone. But investigators have uncovered a possible link over the attempted bombing to the Pakistani Taliban and a Kashmiri Islamist group. The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the failed attempt in Times Square. If this claim is true, the attempt would be the group's first act in the US. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8680745.stm :mad: