Results tagged “najibullahzazi”

With the federal authorities continuing their investigation of an alleged terror plot with roots in Denver and Queens, some New York City Muslims have accused the feds and NYPD of racial profiling. Queens Islamic activist Monami Maulik said over the weekend, "An entire community and people and religion should not be profiled and characterized as terrorists because of certain investigations."

Police Commissioner Ray Kelly spoke about the man the federal authorities believe was planning a terrorist attack—and Newsday reports that Kelly confirmed that the plot was apparently focused on the Big Apple, "We believe the target was most likely here in New York City."

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder discussed the alleged terror plot involving suspect Najibullah Zazi, the former Queens/current Denver resident, and others. Holder said it was "one of the most serious terrorist threats to our country since Sept. 11, 2001... This wasn't merely an 'aspirational' plot with no chance of success. This plot was very serious and, had it not been disrupted, it could have resulted in the loss of American lives."

With terror suspect Najibullah Zazi in custody, accused to plotting to bomb NYC mass transit, experts are now weighing on how Zazi's purchases from a beauty supply store were very dangerous. They say that Zazi "had the means to kill scores of people — not hundreds or thousands," with retired FBI explosives expert Denny Kline saying, "These explosives are meant to be concealed easily and deployed easily and kill and maim and cause havoc in small areas."

The investigation in an alleged terrorist plot by a former lower Manhattan coffee vendor may bring some more arrests. According to the Post, "A 'handful' of men in New York are possible associates of the chief suspect in an alleged plot to bomb commuter trains -- and now are under surveillance....The men being watched are no longer considered dangerous because the plot was disrupted, an official said."

Najibullah Zazi pleaded not guilty to a single terrorism conspiracy charge in a Brooklyn federal courthouse yesterday. The 24-year-old former Queens/current Denver resident is accused of plotting to bomb NYC, after an investigation revealed he bought large quantities of beauty supplies that can be used in bombs and backpacks (meant to carry bombs) were seized in a Queens apartment.

Najibullah Zazi, the former Queens (current Denver) resident accused of plotting to bomb New York, will be in Brooklyn's Eastern District Court today. The 24-year-old will face arraignment on the charge of conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction. It's believed he and other associates were plotting to bomb NYC mass transit, possibly on September 11.

Who cares if the NYPD might have screwed up the federal authorities' investigations of suspected terror suspect Najibullah Zazi? According to Daily News sources, President Obama called Police Commissioner Ray Kelly to express his "appreciation and admiration" for the NYPD's work in stopping Zazi and for the NYPD's security during the U.N. General Assembly.

Najibullah Zazi, the former Queens (current Denver) resident accused of plotting to bomb New York, was flown from Denver to face charges at Eastern District Court in Brooklyn. Yesterday, assistant U.S. Attorney Tim Neff said there was a "chilling, disturbing sequence of events that suggest the defendant was intent on making a bomb and being in New York on 9/11 for the purposes of using such an item...The defendant was in the throes of making a bomb and attempting to perfect his formulation." The U.S. Marshals' plane landed in Teterboro, NJ, where the NYPD picked Zazi and flew him by helicopter to Brooklyn, where he was placed in Sunset Park's Metropolitan Detention Center.

Federal prosecutors are now suggesting that the beauty-supply bomb plot in which Najibullah Zazi has been implicated was supposed to take place on September 11, 2009. Federal attorney Tim Neff said in court today there was "a chilling, disturbing sequence of events that suggest the defendant was intent on making a bomb and being in New York on 9/11 for the purposes of using such an item.” Zazi rented a car in Denver and drove to New York September 9-10.

If the terror charges filed yesterday against Najibullah Zazi are true, a fairly large number of his co-conspirators must still be at large. The impressive evidence presented yesterday against the 24-year-old Afghan immigrant indicates the cooperation of a number of other men: the man he consulted in cooking up the bombs in a Colorado hotel, the men who trained him and gave him notes on bomb design in Pakistan, and the men who housed him in NYC and planned to wear the backpacks that were seized in a Queens apartment.

Najibullah Zazi was indicted earlier today in Brooklyn on charges of "conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction," the first terror charges brought in the Colorado-Queens terror case. He is still in Denver, where he is being held without bail. No further charges are expected against his father, Mohammed Zazi, who has already been charged with lying to investigators. The third suspect, Flushing imam Ahmad Wais Afzali, has been released in New York on a $1.5 million bond.

The NYPD inspector who showed photos of "persons of interest" to a Flushing imam has been transferred to another department, the Times reports today. The imam allegedly later informed the suspects that they were being watched.

As the authorities continue to investigate the alleged terror attack plans on "places of amusement, immorality, and sin" as well as "vital economic centers," Police Commissioner Ray Kelly has been trying to assure New Yorkers that the NYPD is on top of things as always, saying, "There is no specific threat. In a post-9/11 world, we're concerned. We do more than any other city in the world," and "Our operating premise is that the city is the top of the terrorist target list. That there are always those people that want to come here and hurt us." We guess that's why more raids were conducted yesterday.

While a Queens imam, a former Queen resident and his father have been been arrested because of fears over a terrorist plot in NYC, now it's suggested that many more people were involved. WCBS 2 reports that the FBI and NYPD "are still tracking a core group of nine to 12 people with knowledge of the alleged terror plot"—and who planned "to use homemade explosives to bomb one or more terror targets in New York City."

Now that Denver-area resident Najibullah Zazi may be admitting ties to Al Qaeda (apparently he met with some Al Qaeda operatives while in Pakistan) just a week after visiting Queens—prompting the FBI and NYPD to raid homes—the Daily News says apparently seven men attempted to "rent the biggest truck at a Queens U-Haul on Sept. 9."

[UPDATE]: Now Fox News says Zazi admits ties to Al Qaeda. More below. Najibullah Zazi, the former Queens resident whose return to the borough prompted FBI-NYPD raids of three homes in Queens, was questioned for over 8 hours by the feds in Colorado yesterday. Apparently CNN said that bomb-making diagrams were found on his laptop computer, but his lawyer Arthur Folsom said, "There's no diagram of a bomb. Do you really think the FBI would have allowed us to walk out of here?" and denied Zazi knows anyone from Al Qaeda,"He's simply somebody who was in the wrong place at the wrong time."

After raiding three homes in Flushing, Queens early Monday morning, the FBI is apparently set for more! The Daily News provides the tip-off: "Fearful of a Madrid-style subway train bombing, authorities are poised to make more raids to seize bomb-making materials at locations in Queens, sources said Wednesday... Another source said an earlier raid uncovered nine backpacks and cell phones, raising memories of the March 2004 bombings in Madrid."