Subway Bomb Plot Linked to al-Qaeda Figure

A failed plot to set off bombs in the New York subway system last year was part of a larger al-Qaeda conspiracy that planned a similar attack in England. In an indictment unsealed today, US prosecutors added several al-Qaeda figures to the case, including Adnan Shukrijumah, who they said was directly involved in recruiting and plotting the New York attack, the AP reports. Shukrijumah is a 34-year-old US citizen raised in Brooklyn and educated in Florida, the New York Times adds, and who has been sought by authorities for 7 years.

Two of the men indicted today—Abid Naseer and Tariq Ur Rehman—were linked to a previously undisclosed companion plot in England. "These charges underscore the global nature of the terrorist threat we face," says the Justice Department's top national security prosecutor. Three US citizens were arrested in September 2009 before they could carry out a trio of bombings in Manhattan. Najibullah Zazi and Zarein Ahmedzay have pleaded guilty and admitted planning to detonate homemade bombs on the subway during rush hour. A third man, Adis Medunjanin, awaits trial. Prosecutors added new terrorism charges against him today. After 9/11, Shukrijumah was seen as one of al-Qaeda's best chances to attack inside the US or Europe, captured terrorist Abu Zubaydah told U.S. authorities. The US is offering a $5 million reward for information leading to his capture. (More Abid Naseer stories.)