WASHINGTON — The young Afghan immigrant at the center of an expanding investigation holds the key to unlocking the details of an alleged bomb plot that authorities believe is the first Al Qaeda-linked terrorist operation on U.S. soil since Sept. 11, 2001, law enforcement and intelligence officials said Sunday.
New York City police and the FBI moved aggressively to investigate Najibullah Zazi, 24, and some of his alleged associates last week before the men could take significant steps to launch such a plot, officials said. As a result, there is much that the U.S. government doesn't know about the men's intentions, or their possible connections to a wider network of militants here and overseas, especially in Pakistan, those officials acknowledged.
"You can't make a definitive statement about how big this is because it's unclear how much more is going to come out," said a law enforcement official involved in the inquiry. Like others, the official spoke on condition of anonymity, citing the urgency and secrecy of the investigation and the search for more suspects.
But the official added: "There is a lot more to come. This isn't over by any means."
Authorities are sifting through evidence from raids at numerous locations in New York and Colorado, including Zazi's laptop and other computers, cellphones and other electronic devices. And Zazi, an airport shuttle bus driver living in the Denver suburb of Aurora, had been cooperating with the FBI and other authorities, FBI affidavits unsealed Sunday indicate.
Zazi was arrested in Aurora late Saturday after undergoing three days of questioning by the FBI but refusing to submit to a fourth day. Also arrested were his father, Mohammed Wali Zazi, 53, of Aurora, and Ahmad Wais Afzali, 37, a Queens imam described in court documents as having been an informant for the New York City Police Department. All of them were born in Afghanistan and are living legally in the United States.
The three were charged with deliberately making false statements to federal agents investigating the alleged terrorist plot, a charge that carries a maximum penalty of eight years in prison. All are to appear in court today.
In announcing the charges early Sunday morning, Assistant U.S. Atty. Gen. David Kris said agents were working around the clock, domestically and internationally, in "an ongoing and fast-paced investigation."
