‘New York subway plotter arrested in Pakistan’

[DaRk WaVe]

‘New York subway plotter arrested in Pakistan’

NEW YORK: A fourth suspect in a foiled plot to attack New York subways by self-confessed Al-Qaeda agent Najibullah Zazi has been arrested in Pakistan, media reported citing law enforcement sources.

Spokesmen for the FBI and federal prosecutors contacted by AFP declined to confirm or deny the report.

The New York Daily News and NBC news reported that the man – who was not identified – could soon be extradited to the United States and charged in Brooklyn.

Two other accused accomplices – Zarein Ahmedzay and Adis Medunjanin – were arrested in January and pleaded not guilty in February.

Zazi, who pleaded guilty in February, has been cooperating with investigators.

A local English daily reported that he and his friends had planned to “strap explosives to their bodies and split up, heading for the Grand Central and Times Square stations – the two busiest subway stations in New York City.”

They planned to board trains on the 1, 2, 3, and 6 lines during rush hour and position themselves in the middle of the packed trains to “ensure the maximum carnage when they blew themselves up,” the newspaper reported citing unidentified sources.

Zazi was arrested on September 20 after returning from New York to his home in Colorado when he was tipped off that he was being watched by federal agents.

He had planned on carrying out the attack on September 14, 15, or 16 using chemicals derived from beauty products.

US Attorney General has called the plot the “most serious” since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

Zazi, 25, was born in Afghanistan and is a legal US resident.

He is set to be sentenced on June 25 and faces a maximum term of life in prison on the charges of conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction and conspiracy to commit murder in a foreign country, and 15 years for confessing to providing material support to the Al-Qaeda Islamist network.

However, his plea appears to be part of a bargain in which he could receive more lenient punishment in return for cooperating with investigators. —AFP

 

[DaRk WaVe]

New Arrest in Plot to Bomb Subway ​

By EVAN PEREZ And KEITH JOHNSON

NEW YORK—Pakistani authorities are holding a fourth suspect in the alleged plot last summer to bomb trains on the New York City subway, U.S. law-enforcement officials said. Among the suspected targets were trains at Grand Central and Times Square, where there are near-constant throngs of commuters and tourists.

The man, whose identity couldn't be learned, was a contact for Najibullah Zazi, an Afghan national who has pleaded guilty in the case and is cooperating with federal investigators, these officials said. Two other accused plotters in New York have pleaded not guilty.

Mr. Zazi and two alleged accomplices received "military-style training" at terrorist training camps in northern Pakistan in 2007, according to his indictment. That included training in how to use hydrogen peroxide, acetone and acid to make explosives—a mix similar to that used in the London Underground bombings of 2005.

Mr. Zazi had an image of handwritten instructions on bomb-making in his email account and on his laptop hard drive when arrested by police in September 2009.

The fourth suspect arrested in Pakistan has been in custody for months and U.S. prosecutors had previously disclosed this in court proceedings. It remained unclear whether he would be turned over to the U.S. and whether he would face charges, law-enforcement officials said.

The Zazi case underscores the potential vulnerability of transportation systems, especially subways and commuter trains. London, Madrid, and Moscow have all been targets of deadly terrorist attacks on urban rail systems; some 38 people were killed late last month in an attack in Moscow. Al Qaeda operatives targeted the New York subway for a small-scale chemical attack in 2003 but canceled it.

Mr. Zazi's aborted attack also shows the difficulty of turning would-be terrorists into accomplished explosives experts after minimal training.

Mr. Zazi and associates spent the summer of 2009 scouring beauty-supply stores around Denver and secured "unusually large quantities" of hydrogen peroxide and acetone, according to his indictment.

By September 2009, Mr. Zazi was ready to test his bomb-making recipe in a hotel suite in Aurora, Colo. "Zazi attempted to communicate on multiple occasions with another individual—each communication more urgent in tone than the last—seeking to correct mixtures of ingredients to make explosives," the indictment said. "Zazi repeatedly emphasized in the communications that he needed the answers right away."

New York Terror Probe Nabs 4th Suspect in Pakistan - WSJ.com

 

[Kompromat]

He is an Afghan American involved in the Plot , his arrest may open some gates towards Terrorist leadership.

 

[FreekiN]

I do not like this bullshit. They always say that some terrorist is arrested 'in' Pakistan but not 'BY' Pakistan.

The average American reader who does not do any study of news just ends up thinking that American forces caught the guy or something and end up taking the credit.

 

[Musafar]

Wow - They've really turned this guy into a bogey man figure.

From what I can gather he was an average Afghan striving to make a living, but became radicalized when he saw images of slain civillians by US bombing of wedding parties in Afghanistan.

To somehow deduce he is some mastermind with secret links to the inner workings of major terrorist organizations is nonsense.

This guy is similar to the London bomberswho were home grown and radicalized by the Iraq war.

He is no big fish.

 

[Goodperson]

I do not like this bullshit. They always say that some terrorist is arrested 'in' Pakistan but not 'BY' Pakistan.

The average American reader who does not do any study of news just ends up thinking that American forces caught the guy or something.

But what was this guy doing in Pakistan ?

 

[karan.1970]

But what was this guy doing in Pakistan ?

You dont really want anyone to answer that.. Do you???

 

[Omar1984]

But what was this guy doing in Pakistan ?

The guy is Afghan. Theres millions of Afghan immigrants in Pakistan. For them Pakistan is America or Europe.

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

But what was this guy doing in Pakistan ?

Maybe traveling to Afghanistan or FATA?

But your comment does not really address the point raised by the poster does it?

 

[deckingraj]

I do not like this bullshit. They always say that some terrorist is arrested 'in' Pakistan but not 'BY' Pakistan.

The average American reader who does not do any study of news just ends up thinking that American forces caught the guy or something.

Very well said....I think the stress is more on Pakistan being the epicenter of Terror than to show her efforts in resolving this...Howeever the point is how are you going to tackle this???

Would you disagree that Pakistan PR has gone downgrade due to her proximity with terror agencies(atleast in the past)???? Whatever be the reason(you helped US to oust Russia...Helped/Helping LET, HUD to oust India from Kashmir) the end result is that lot of bad things has been associated with Pakistan....You surely need to do a lot to improve the image you have(Partly due to exaggeration Partly due to your own deeds)


B/W did local newspaper publish this news in the format you expect it to??? I hope they did...

 

[deckingraj]

Maybe traveling to Afghanistan or FATA?

But your comment does not really address the point raised by the poster does it?

Agno though i agree that people are being a bit unfair to Pakistan however most of terror activities around the world somehow gets connected to Pakistan is not a healthy sign for a country who is an ally on war on Terror....

There is a big MAY BE he was travelling to AF or FATA however he was arrested IN Pakistan is not helping the cause...and in all that fuss [BY] pakistan is lost...

 

[FreekiN]

Very well said....I think the stress is more on Pakistan being the epicenter of Terror than to show her efforts in resolving this...Howeever the point is how are you going to tackle this???

Would you disagree that Pakistan PR has gone downgrade due to her proximity with terror agencies(atleast in the past)???? Whatever be the reason(you helped US to oust Russia...Helped/Helping LET, HUD to oust India from Kashmir) the end result is that lot of bad things has been associated with Pakistan....You surely need to do a lot to improve the image you have(Partly due to exaggeration Partly due to your own deeds)


B/W did local newspaper publish this news in the format you expect it to??? I hope they did...

There is not much we can do to tackle it. For example, USA media loves to show Pakistan as some terrorist-infested Afghanistan. They can't really say much about the large cities like Lahore and Karachi so they point fingers at FATA [Federally-Administered Tribal Areas] What they did to counter this name is to not address FATA as FATA but instead call it 'the lawless land in Pakistan.'

Note how the names collide into each other.

 

[deckingraj]

There is not much we can do to tackle it. For example, USA media loves to show Pakistan as some terrorist-infested Afghanistan. They can't really say much about the large cities like Lahore and Karachi so they point fingers at FATA [Federally-Administered Tribal Areas] What they did to counter this name is to not address FATA as FATA but instead call it 'the lawless land in Pakistan.'

Note how the names collide into each other.

Yeah ..and i beg your pardon but i also have the impression that GOP don't have much control over FATA region...May be i am misled by the media over here or back home however Pakistan definitely need to do something out of the box to change her Image...May be something like "Incredible India" campaign...

See this...

between 2001 and 2002, the Indian tourism sector witnessed fall in foreign tourist arrivals due to the 9/11 incident in the US, Afghanistan war, and India-Pak border tension. To boost the tourists’ flow, Ministry of Tourism (MoT), launched ‘Incredible India’ in 2002 – a campaign aimed at building brand image of India in global tourism industry and to increase foreign exchange earnings. The tourism industry witnessed positive results of this campaign and now enjoying the fruits of ‘Incredible India’ campaign.

Indian Tourism Turnaround | The Success Story of 'Incredible India' Campaign | Restructuring | Turnaround Strategies Case Studies

Why Incredible India is a country campaign to watch | Tracking Tourism: The Tourism Research Blog

 

[FreekiN]

Yeah ..and i beg your pardon but i also have the impression that GOP don't have much control over FATA region...May be i am misled by the media

Yep, You got it.

Indian Tourism Turnaround | The Success Story of 'Incredible India' Campaign | Restructuring | Turnaround Strategies Case Studies

Why Incredible India is a country campaign to watch | Tracking Tourism: The Tourism Research Blog

Maybe after the TTP is all dead...

 

[deckingraj]

Maybe after the TTP is all dead...

I don't think so....Any insurgency operations take time...lot of time and yet they are not 100% successful...Just look at how NATO is not able to achieve its objectives even after 9 years of operations in AF....

Now we can give more credit to PA because the region(FATA) is their backyard and they would have better intelligence(since it is your own country) however still fighting insurgents in not an easy job and quick by no means...

In other words you cannot wait till the time TTP is dead to let the outer world know about the real Pakistan(unless and until what is being reported is not true)....Otherwise i am afraid the damage would be beyond repair(it would take a significant amount of work to change the perception about PAK)