Al-Qaeda Plan To Bomb New York, Manchester: Pakistani Man Convicted in Terror Plots

Jonah Hicap Saturday, March 07, 2015

Assistant U.S. Attorney Celia Cohen, center, makes opening statements to U.S. District Judge Raymond Dearie, right, in the trial of Pakistani citizen Abid Naseer, left, 28, as seen in a courtroom sketch in Brooklyn, New York, on Feb.17, 2015. | REUTERS/Jane Rosenberg

A Pakistani man was found guilty by a federal jury in Brooklyn, New York, on Wednesday of conspiring with al-Qaeda to commit attacks in the U.S. and Britain.

Abid Naseer, 28, was expressionless as the guilty verdict was read in court, convicting him of giving material support to al-Qaeda and conspiring to use a destructive device, according to Reuters.

Naseer was convicted after a trial that lasted for two weeks.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the evidence proved that Naseer and his accomplices nearly succeeded in launching an attack on a busy shopping mall in Manchester, United Kingdom, in April 2009.

The planned attack also targeted the New York City subway and a newspaper office in Copenhagen, Denmark, and was coordinated with senior al-Qaeda leaders in Pakistan.

Naseer, the U.S. justice department said, is the eighth defendant to face charges and the fourth to be convicted in the Brooklyn federal court related to the al-Qaeda plot, following the conviction of Adis Medunjanin, Najibullah Zazi, and Zarein Ahmedzay, three members of the al-Qaeda cell that targeted New York City.

"Today's verdict sends an even more powerful message in response: the United States will stop at nothing in order to hold those who plot to kill and maim in the name of religion accountable for their grievous crimes," said U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch.

Naseer, who represented himself in the trial, indicated through his court-appointed legal adviser that he would appeal the verdict.

Naseer was convicted six days after a Manhattan jury found Khalid al-Fawwaz guilty in connection with the 1998 bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, Reuters added.

"Abid Naseer was part of an al-Qaeda conspiracy that targeted Western countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom, for terrorist attack," said Assistant Attorney General John Carlin.

The U.S. justice department said in September 2008, al-Qaeda leader in Pakistan recruited Medunjanin, Zazi, and Ahmedzay to conduct a suicide bombing attack in New York City.

A year later, after Medunjanin, Zazi, and Ahmedzay selected the New York City subway system as their target, Zazi sent an email to "Ahmad" in Pakistan about the proper ingredients for the main charge explosive, which included flour and oil.

Zazi pleaded guilty to his role in the plot on Feb. 22, 2010. Ahmedzay pleaded guilty on April 23, 2010. Medunjanin was convicted after trial on May 1, 2012.