US Terror Suspect to Face Charges in New York

Prosecutors say an Afghan-born terror suspect in U.S. federal custody spent more than a year plotting a massive attack on the United States with co-conspirators.

Najibullah Zazi was transferred Friday from the western state of Colorado, where he was detained, to the northeastern city of New York, where he faces charges of conspiring to detonate bombs.

A federal grand jury in New York indicted 24-year-old Zazi on Wednesday, but that was not made public until Thursday.

The U.S. government says Zazi received bomb-making instructions in Pakistan in 2008. It also says he bought components to build improvised explosive devices and traveled to New York City on September 10, 2009, to move forward with his plans.

If convicted, Zazi faces a maximum sentence of life in prison. He has denied any links to terrorism.

He is set to appear in court Tuesday.

Zazi is a legal permanent resident of the United States. He was detained in Colorado September 19 on charges of lying to counter-terrorism investigators.

He was indicted on the terror plot charges four days later.

Zazi was born in Afghanistan and moved to Pakistan as a boy before relocating to the United States with his family about 10 years ago.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.