He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction (explosive bombs) against persons or property in the United States, conspiracy to commit murder in a foreign country, and providing material support to al-Qaeda. Zazi also admitted that as part of a plan to attack the New York subway system, he brought TATP [Triacetone Triperoxide] explosives to New York on Sept. 10, 2009.
Zazi, an airport shuttle bus driver raised in Queens, New York, living in Colorado, reported in his testimony that two of his high school classmates from Flushing High School were involved in the attempt.
“The plan was to conduct a martyrdom operation on the New York subway lines,” said Zazi in the U.S. District Court in Brooklyn, according to the Daily News.
He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison for the first two counts and another 15 years in prison for the third count.
Zazi, who has been cooperating with investigators, has shed new light on the continuing efforts of terrorist groups to initiate acts of mass destruction on U.S. soil.
In his testimony in court, Zazi said he traveled to Pakistan with the intent of joining the Taliban in Afghanistan to fight against the United States.
It was there, in Pakistan, that Zazi was recruited by al-Qaeda and the planning stage began and soon after he returned to the United States.
