The US Justice Department announced charges today against five alleged members of al-Qaeda accusing them of plotting attacks on the subways in New York and London, dpa reported. The charges arise from the case of two other individuals, Najibullah Zazi and Zarein Ahmedzay, who pleaded guilty earlier this year to conspiring to use a weapons of mass destruction on the New York subway system. The plot was uncovered in September 2009. The latest terrorism charges are against Adnan el Shukrijumah, Adis Medunjanin, Abid Naseer, Tariq Ur Rehman, and a fifth defendant known as "Ahmad." All of the suspected al-Qaeda operatives face a maximum sentence of life in prison. The five men are accused of plotting separate attacks in New York and London. Naseer, a Pakistani national, was arrested in Britain on Wednesday. Medunjanin was already in US custody in connection to the New York plot, while El Shukrijumah and Rehman remain at large, the Justice Department said. Zazi and Ahmedzay pleaded guilty in February and April, respectively.
