NEW YORK — An Aurora man who admitted plotting to bomb New York City’s subway system wanted to do so with the help of at least two other bombers during rush hour, when the most people could be killed, police said Tuesday.
“This was particularly disturbing,” police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said. “It was his intention to be on trains during rush-hour period and to kill New Yorkers. No question about it.”
The man, 25-year-old Najibullah Zazi, pleaded guilty Monday to charges that included conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction and supporting al-Qaeda, which he said trained him in Pakistan.
The jailed Zazi has been cooperating with investigators since offering information about the bomb plot earlier this month, a law enforcement official has said. He faces life in prison without parole when he’s sentenced in June, though his cooperation with authorities could earn him leniency.
Al-Qaeda intel sought
A law enforcement official familiar with the Zazi investigation told The Associated Press that authorities were most interested in learning about Zazi’s time in Pakistan and when al-Qaeda recruited him. The official said authorities also wanted information about the leadership and structure of the group that recruited him, al-Qaeda’s tactics and names of any contacts.
Authorities weren’t searching for other suspects in the bomb plot, said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the case is ongoing.
Kelly promised more details about the plot would emerge as others charged proceeded through the courts. He said law enforcement officials were confident they had identified the plot’s participants.
“It is a very significant case,” he said. “This was the real deal.”
Kelly’s remarks echoed those of U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, who said Monday in Washington that the planned bombings “could have been devastating.”
Mission to mark 9/11
Zazi, a former Denver airport shuttle driver, told a judge Monday he traveled to New York in September with explosive materials he planned to use to assemble bombs to attack city subways after the 9/11 anniversary. He was arrested before he could carry out the suicide mission.
During his plea in Brooklyn federal court, Zazi admitted using notes taken at an al-Qaeda training camp in Wazir istan, Pakistan, to build homemade explosives with beauty supplies purchased in the Denver suburbs and cooked up in an Aurora hotel room. He said he dumped the explosive materials when he realized he was being trailed by law enforcement.
Others charged in the case include Zazi’s uncle and father and two of Zazi’s friends, Zarein Ahmedzay and Adis Medunjanin, who traveled to Pakistan with him in 2008.
