Editor's note: Read the superseding information here.
The man at the center of an alleged plot to bomb New York City on the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks reportedly has pled guilty and cooperate with federal investigators.
The New York Daily News reports that Najibullah Zazi is admitting plotting "martyrdom operations" in New York subways "draw attention to U.S. military operations against civilians in Afghanistan."
His guilty plea includes a count of providing material support to Al Qaeda, the News reports.
Attorney General Eric Holder has scheduled a late afternoon news conference, where details of Zazi's plea are expected to be released. Zazi, 24, was arrested September 19 and charged with conspiring to use weapons of mass destruction against the United States .
Update: The Department of Justice has issued a news release with the following summary:
As Zazi admitted during today's guilty plea allocution and as reflected in previous government filings, he and others agreed to travel to Afghanistan to join the Taliban and fight against United States and allied forces. In furtherance of their plans, they flew from Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, N.J., to Peshawar, Pakistan at the end of August 2008. Although Zazi and others initially intended to fight on behalf of the Taliban, they were recruited by al-Qaeda shortly after arriving in Peshawar. Al-Qaeda personnel transported Zazi and others to the Waziristan region of Pakistan and trained them on several different kinds of weapons. During the training, al-Qaeda leaders asked Zazi and others to return to the United States and conduct suicide operations. They agreed.
Zazi later received additional training from al-Qaeda on constructing the explosives for the planned attacks in the United States. Zazi had discussions with al-Qaeda leaders about target locations, including subway trains in New York City. Zazi took detailed notes during the training, and later emailed a summary of the notes to himself so that he could access them when he returned to the United States. Zazi also provided money and computers to al-Qaeda before he left Pakistan.
Zazi returned to the United States in January 2009 and moved to Denver. Beginning in June 2009, he began reviewing the bomb-making notes from his training and conducting research on where to buy the ingredients for the explosives. Zazi then traveled to New York and met with others to discuss the plan, including the timing of the attack and where to make the explosives.
CNN reports that multiple subway stations were among his targets. The type of explosives matched the size and scale of a smaller assault which could have still killed scores of people, similar to the type assembled in a foiled July 2005 London subway plot.
Zazi reportedly will face a life sentence in the agreement.