Suspects admits New York bomb plot

An Afghan national and immigrant to the US has pleaded guilty in a federal court to plotting a bomb attack on certain subway system within New York City.

Najibullah Zazi, 25, also admitted that he took up a bomb-making and weapons training from the terrorist group Al-Qaeda in Waziristan region, Pakistan, within Afghanistan’s border. He also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction, conspiracy to commit murder in a foreign country and providing material support to al-Qaeda. According to Zazi, while en-route to Afghanistan from Pakistan, he and unnamed others were recruited by al-Qaeda who asked them to fly back to the US to do the martyrdom operations.

“The plan was to conduct (a) martyrdom operation in Manhattan” around the time of the eighth anniversary of the attacks of September 11, 2001,” Zazi admitted to the court.

“To me, it meant I would sacrifice myself to bring attention to what the US military was doing to civilians in Afghanistan.”

At least four other suspects are also facing charges in connection with the case – Zazi’s father, two of Zazi’s high school classmates, and an imam in New York City. Zazi now faces life imprisonment.