国际英语新闻：Man accused of plotting attack on NYC pleads guilty

NEW YORK, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- The man accused of plotting to set off homemade bombs in the subway system of New York last year pled guilty Monday to charges of conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction, according to local media.

New York local TV channel NY1 said Najibullah Zazi, 25, also pleaded guilty to counts of conspiracy to commit murder in a foreign country and providing material support for a terrorist organization.

He faces a life prison sentence without parole in the plea deal.

Zazi is a citizen of Afghanistan and legal resident of the United States who was arrested in September 2009 as part of the 2009 U.S. Al Qaeda group accused of planning to carry out acts of terrorism against the United States. Zazi is said by the FBI to have attended courses and received instruction on weapons and explosives at an Al Qaeda training camp in Pakistan in 2008.

On September 9, 2009, he rented a car, to drive from his home in Denver, Colorado, to New York City. According to The New York Times, this trip triggered a series of arrests on September 15, 2009. Zazi had reportedly been working as an airport shuttle driver in Denver until authorities were tipped off to his alleged plot last summer. Investigators are cited as saying Zazi was caught on surveillance video purchasing items in a beauty supply store in Colorado that could be used to make a bomb, which would be detonated in time for the eighth anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks.

Charges have also been filed against Zazi's father for allegedly trying to destroy chemicals and other evidence in his son's case. He was released last week on bail.