Najibullah Zazi (Arabic: نجيب الله زازي, Pashto: نجیب الله ځاځی; born August 10, 1985) is an Afghan-American who was arrested in September 2009 as part of the U.S. al Qaeda group accused of planning suicide bombings on the New York City Subway system, and who pleaded guilty as have two other defendants.

[1][6] Spooked, however, by surveillance from U.S. intelligence, and warned by a local imam that the authorities were inquiring about him, he abruptly flew back to Colorado.

He said he was recruited by al-Qaeda in Pakistan for a suicide "martyrdom" attack against the U.S., and that his bombing target was the New York City subway system.

In May 2019, it was announced Zazi would be released from prison after serving 10 years due to extensive cooperation with law enforcement.

[8] Two of his high school classmates who had traveled with him to Pakistan, his father, his uncle, and an imam from Queens were indicted on related charges.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder referred to the planned attack as "one of the most serious terrorist threats to our nation since September 11, 2001.

[4][10][13] Mohammed Wali Zazi, Najibullah's father and now a naturalized U.S. citizen, found work as a New York City taxi driver.

He was chief representative to Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, an Afghan warlord who was declared a "Specially Designated Global Terrorist" by the U.S. in 2003.

[12] According to one of his friends, Zazi liked listening to Zakir Naik, an Indian Muslim televangelist who is an expert on comparative religion and theology.

[7][17][19] He took lengthy notes and emailed them to himself, so he could access them upon his return to the U.S.[7] Al-Qaeda leaders also discussed target locations with Zazi, such as New York City subways.

[20] Vinas, born in Queens, had also traveled to Pakistan (in November 2007) to join a jihadist group to fight against the U.S. military in Afghanistan.

Vinas was arrested in Peshwar, Pakistan, in November 2008, and pleaded guilty in the U.S. in February 2010 to participating in and supporting al-Qaeda plots in Afghanistan and the U.S.[24] Over the internet, Zazi befriended Jamie Paulin-Ramirez, a Kansas City, Missouri-born medical assistant from Leadville, Colorado, who had converted to Islam, according to her family.

It learned that in July and August 2009 he and his three associates were buying large quantities of hydrogen peroxide and acetone products from beauty supply stores around Denver, Colorado.

"[14] Zazi checked into an Aurora motel suite on August 28 and on September 6 and 7, and used the room's kitchenette to create chemicals for use in bombs.

[27] On September 9, 2009, he began a 1,800 miles (2,900 km) drive in a rented car from Denver to New York with bomb-making materials.

[18][33][34] Zazi arrived in New York City on the afternoon of September 10, and spent the night at the residence of his childhood friend Naiz Kahn in Flushing, Queens.

[39] The Daily Telegraph reported that the plot had been uncovered by Scotland Yard, which intercepted an e-mail from a senior al-Qaeda member in Pakistan to Zazi, instructing him how to implement his attack.

[4][16][32][41] Afzali's lawyer later wrote the court: "Even though [Zazi] is not the brightest bulb in the terrorist chandelier, the thinly-transparent ruse of a 'random' checkpoint stop did not fool him.

On September 16, Zazi voluntarily appeared and was interviewed by members of the Joint Terrorism Task Force at the Denver FBI offices in the presence of his lawyer.

In subsequent interviews on September 17 and 18, however, he acknowledged receiving explosives and weapons training in the tribal areas of Pakistan.

[37] On January 7, 2010, the FBI also arrested two of his high school classmates from Queens, Adis Medunjanin and Zarein Ahmedzay, who had traveled with him to Pakistan in 2008.

[6][53][54][55] On January 7, 2010, while police were executing a search warrant at Medunjanin's residence, he left his apartment and attempted to turn his car into a weapon of terror and become a martyr.

[57][58] He reportedly discussed possible target locations in Manhattan, including the subway system, Grand Central Station, the New York Stock Exchange, Times Square, and movie theaters to carry out suicide bombings during the Muslim holiday of Ramadan.

[57] Medunjanin pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy to kill U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan and receiving military-style training from al-Qaeda.

[73] He initially pleaded not guilty, faced up to eight years in prison and deportation if convicted, and was freed on $1.5 million bail.

[76] Afzali faced up to six months in prison, and as part of the plea arrangement the government agreed not to request any jail time.

[69][80] Afzali denied any intention of aiding terrorism or misleading authorities, and according to his lawyer he was "caught in a turf war between the NYPD and the FBI.

He is believed to have pleaded not guilty to one felony count for participating with Zazi's father in the attempt to dispose of evidence.

[36] It was anticipated that he would be extradited to the U.S., and tried in Brooklyn Federal Court with Medunjanin and Ahmedzay on charges that he helped orchestrate the planned attack.

[6][19] On February 22, 2010, Zazi pleaded guilty to conspiring to use weapons of mass destruction (explosive bomb), conspiracy to commit murder in a foreign country, and providing material support to a terrorist organization, before Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York Raymond J.