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February 23, 2010

Afghan Immigrant Pleads Guilty in NYC Subway Bombing Plot
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An Afghan immigrant pleaded guilty on Monday to planning a suicide bomb
attack on New York City subways last September. Twenty-five-year-old
Najibullah Zazi admitted in Brooklyn federal court that he had received
bomb-making and weapons training from al-Qaeda in Pakistan’s Waziristan
region. Zazi said the attack was designed to “bring attention to what
the United States military was doing to civilians in Afghanistan.”

Attorney General Eric Holder: "Zazi has admitted that he brought
explosives to New York City on September 10, 2009, and that he and
others intended to detonate them on board the New York City subway
system. This was one of the most serious terrorist threats to our nation
since September the 11th, 2001, and were it not for the combined efforts
of the law enforcement and intelligence communities, it could have been
devastating. This attempted attack on our homeland was real. It was in
motion. And it would have been deadly.”

Attorney General Eric Holder said the case proved the criminal justice
system is an invaluable tool to incapacitate terrorists, to gain
intelligence and to fight against terrorism. At least four other
suspects have been charged in connection with the case: Najibullah
Zazi’s father, a New York City imam, and two of his high school
classmates from Queens.