US terror suspect charged with terror plot

Terror suspect Najibullah Zazi was today charged with conspiring to detonate bombs in the United States.

Zazi faced a court in Denver accused of lying to terrorism investigators. The new charge of conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction was filed in New York.

The two-page indictment offers few details, but a separate document - a government motion seeking to deny bail to the 24-year-old Afghan immigrant - lays out evidence gathered by investigators.

The document says that on September 6 and 7, Zazi tried on multiple times to communicate with another individual "seeking to correct mixtures of ingredients to make explosives".

"Each communication," the papers say, was "more urgent than the last".

On those days, Zazi rented a suite at a hotel in his hometown of Aurora, Colorado. The room had a kitchen, and subsequent FBI testing for explosives and residue in the suite found the presence of residue in the vent above the stove.

Authorities plan to transfer him to the federal court in New York to face the new charge.

Zazi has publicly denied any terrorist plotting. Counter-terrorism agents fear he and others may have been planning to detonate home-made bombs on New York City commuter trains.

Zazi's father and an imam in the city have also been charged with lying to investigators in the case.