
NEW YORK (CNN) - A Colorado man arrested in a U.S. terror probe has been indicted on a charge of conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction - explosive bombs - against persons or property in the United States, the Justice Department said Thursday.
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/CRIME/09/24/terror.indictment/art.zazi.gi.jpg caption="Najibullah Zazi, 24, has been indicted on a charge of conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction in the U.S."]
A federal grand jury in the Eastern District of New York on Wednesday returned a one-count indictment against Najibullah Zazi, 24, of Aurora, Colorado - a Denver suburb.
The Justice Department said FBI agents in Colorado first arrested Zazi on Saturday in a criminal complaint that said he "knowingly and willfully" made false statements to the FBI involving international and domestic terrorism.
In addition, others arrested included Zazi's father - Mohammed Wali Zazi, 53, also from suburban Denver, and Ahmad Wais Afzali, 37, a Muslim cleric and funeral director from Queens, New York.
All three - arrested in what the Justice Department has said was a plot to detonate bombs in the United States - were charged with lying to federal agents during the probe of the alleged plot.
(CNN) - An audio message purportedly from al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden has accused President Barack Obama of being unable to fulfil his election pledge to pull U.S. troops out of Iraq.
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/WORLD/meast/09/14/binladen.message/art.obl.filer.gi.jpg caption="Osama bin Laden is seen in an image taken from a videotape that aired on Al-Jazeera in September 2003."]
The tape emerged on radical Islamist Web sites, just two days after the United States marked the eighth anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terror attacks.
"To the American people, this is my message to you: a reminder of the reasons behind 9/11 and the wars and the repercussions that followed and the way to resolve it," the message said.
"From the beginning, we have stated many times ... that the cause of our disagreement with you is your support of your allies, the Israelis, who are occupying our land in Palestine. Your stance along with some other grievances are what led us to carry out the events of 9/11."
The video plays the audio over a undated photograph of bin Laden. The video also shows a banner with the American flag as the backdrop and an image of the New York City skyline with the twin towers of the World Trade Center - destroyed in the 9/11 attack - still standing, said terrorism analyst Laura Mansfield.
CNN could not independently authenticate bin Laden as the speaker in the 11-minute video posted on Sunday by As-Sahab Media - al Qaeda's production company. Watch CNN's Octavia Nasr's analysis of the message ![]()
Eight years ago today the United States was attacked in what was the worst terrorist attack in the nation's history. Since that day America's leaders have been warning the country that an attack on U.S. soil is imminent.
In January 2002, during President Bush's first State of the Union address, he said "Thousands of dangerous killers, schooled in the methods of murder, often supported by outlaw regimes, are now spread throughout the world like ticking time bombs, set to go off without warning."
Vice President Cheney followed the president's warning a few months later in May saying, "I think that the prospects of a future attack on the U.S. are almost a certainty. It could happen tomorrow, it could happen next week, it could happen next year, but they will keep trying."
America watched nervously, anticipating the worst but no attack came. Since that sunny September morning 8 years ago the United States has been able to stay safe – but how?
Tomorrow is September 11 – an important time to ask tough questions like this one: Could terrorists get their hands on a weapon that could do even more damage and smuggle it into the US?
CNN's Paula Newton reports in part two of our special series, "Spies Among Us."

