Federal authorities arrested two men on Friday in connection with the case of an Afghan-born man accused of plotting a bombing attack in New York City on the anniversary of the September 11 attacks. Adis Medunjanin, 25 and of Bosnian origin, and Zarein Ahmedzay, 24, were arrested in New York City as part of the investigation of Najibullah Zazi, 24, an FBI spokesman said.
The New York Times reported they are suspected of travelling with Zazi in 2008 to Peshawar, where prosecutors allege Zazi received al Qaeda training on how to make bombs. Zazi, a former coffee vendor from New York who had moved to Colorado, was indicted by a federal grand jury in September on a charge of conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction.
Zazi pleaded not guilty and his defence attorney has cautioned against what he called a rush to judgement against him. Security experts considered the Zazi case among the most serious within US borders since the attacks of September 11, 2001, though in recent weeks the case was overshadowed by the attempted Christmas Day bombing of a Detroit-bound airliner.