Frightening details emerged yesterday of the alleged terror plot to bomb New York’s subways close to the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.
Najibullah Zazi and two Queens friends allegedly planned to strap homemade explosives to themselves and detonate on the 1, 2, 3 and 6 lines at Grand Central and Times Square.
They were to position themselves in the middle cars for maximum damage between Sept. 14 and 16, sources told the Daily News.
The plot allegedly orchestrated by Zazi, who has cooperated with law enforcement officials since his arrest, was foiled after a trip from his home in Denver to visit high school friends in New York. FBI agents trailed his scouting trips to subway stations.
A fourth suspect has been arrested in Pakistan and is expected to be extradited to stand trial in Brooklyn federal court with Zazi’s co-defendants, according to the Daily News.
If the alleged plot had proceeded, the NYPD’s “visible presence” in the subways would have been a hurdle, said Michael Jacobson, of the Washington Institute’s Stein Program on Counterterrorism and Intelligence, noting many plots are stopped as they unfold.
