DENVER — A judge ordered an Afghanistan-born Colorado man who purportedly received al-Qaida training and had bomb-making instructions on his computer to be held pending a detention hearing Thursday, and the government warned law enforcement around the nation Monday about the danger of an attack on mass transit.
Investigators say Najibullah Zazi, a 24-year-old airport shuttle driver, played a direct role in a purported terror plot that unraveled during a trip to New York City around the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. He has been charged with lying to the government in a matter involving terrorism.
Investigators said they found notes on bomb-making instructions that appear to match Zazi's handwriting on his laptop and discovered his fingerprints on materials - batteries and a scale - that could be used to make explosives.
Publicly, law enforcement officials have repeatedly said they are unaware of a specific time or target for any possible attacks. Privately, officials speaking on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to discuss the case said investigators have worried most about the possible use of backpack bombs on New York City mass transit trains, similar to attacks carried out in London and Madrid.
Backpacks and cell phones were taken from apartments in the Queens raids last week.
A joint FBI-New York Police Department task force feared that Zazi may have been involved in a potential plot involving hydrogen peroxide-based explosives like those cited in an intelligence warning issued last week, according to two law enforcement officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak about the investigation.
An official familiar with the investigation told the AP last week that Zazi had contact with a known al-Qaida associate. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing, would not provide details on the location or nature of the encounter. The official said agents have been monitoring Zazi and four others in Colorado as part of a terrorism investigation.
On Monday, federal officials reminded law enforcement across the country that rail and transit systems can be vulnerable to terrorist attacks.
In a joint assessment, the FBI and Homeland Security Department warned that improvised explosive devices are the most common tactic to blow up mass transit and rail systems overseas. And they noted incidents where homemade bombs were made with various types of peroxide.
In the assessment, obtained by The Associated Press, officials recommended that transit system security officials conduct random sweeps at terminals and stations and that law enforcement make random patrols and board some trains and buses.
Zazi and his 53-year-old father, Mohammed, were arrested Saturday in Denver. An associate, Ahmad Wais Afzali, 37, was arrested in New York, where he is an imam at a mosque in Queens.
All face the same charge of lying to the government in a matter involving terrorism. If convicted, they face eight years in prison.
Mohammed Zazi and Afzali are accused of lying to FBI agents about calls between Denver and New York. An affidavit accuses Afzali of lying about a call in which he told Najibullah Zazi that he had spoken with authorities.
Zazi's father is accused of lying when he told authorities he didn't know anyone by the name of Afzali. The FBI said it recorded a conversation between Mohammed Zazi and Afzali.
Mohammed Zazi was appointed a federal public defender, Warren Williamson, and was expected to be released within 48 hours.
U.S. prosecutor Tim Neff said the proposed terms of release include a $50,000unsecured bail, meaning he wouldn't have to pay unless he broke bail, along with electronic monitoring at his home and a ban on leaving Colorado.
Father and son were due to report for a detention hearing and preliminary hearing Thursday.
Afzali appeared in federal court Monday in Brooklyn and was ordered held without bail. His attorney, Ron Kuby, said he would seek bail Thursday.
The younger Zazi has publicly denied being involved in a terror plot. His attorney, Arthur Folsom, dismissed as "rumor" any notion that his client played a crucial role.
An arrest warrant affidavit alleges Zazi admitted to FBI agents that he received instruction from al-Qaida operatives on subjects such as weapons and explosives. It also says he received the training in the federally administered tribal areas of Pakistan.
Information for this article was contributed by Eileen Sullivan, Devlin Barrett, Ivan Moreno, Samantha Gross, Jennifer Peltz and Larry Neumeister of The Associated Press.
Front Section, Pages 2 on 09/22/2009