Imam in New York subway terror plot likely to plead guilty

An imam accused of tipping off al-Qaeda trained militant Najibullah Zazi as he plotted to set off bombs in New York's subway system was expected to plead guilty on Tuesday to lying to the FBI, a court official said.                                           

The official spoke on condition of anonymity.                             

Ahmad Afzali, 37, was arrested in September as part of a probe into what US Attorney General Eric Holder called one of the most serious security threats to the United States since the Sept 11 attacks in 2001.                                           

"It was in motion. And it would have been deadly," Holder has said.                                           

In what was hailed as a political victory for Holder, Zazi pleaded guilty in February to conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction, conspiracy to commit murder in a foreign country and providing material support to al-Qaeda.                                           

Zazi moved to the New York City borough of Queens as a teenager and went to school there. He attended a mosque led by Afzali, a self-proclaimed pro-American imam who has cooperated with police in previous investigations.                                           

Asked about Zazi, Afzali alerted him that he was under scrutiny, which forced authorities to bring Zazi in for questioning sooner than planned. Afzali lied about the tip-off when questioned by the FBI, prosecutors said.                                           

Zazi's father, Mohammed Wali Zazi, also was expected to appear in Brooklyn federal court on Tuesday for a routine meeting.