2009, The Washington Post WASHINGTON -- The Justice Department announced Thursday that a 24-year-old immigrant from Afghanistan has been indicted on a charge of conspiring to use 'weapons of mass destruction' against targets in the United States, and federal prosecutors sought his indefinite detention without bail. Najibullah Zazi, a resident of Aurora, Colo., who formerly lived in New York City, was indicted by a federal grand jury in New York Wednesday on a single count alleging that he conspired to attack unspecified persons and property in the United States with 'explosive bombs and other similar explosive devices.' A more detailed 12-page detention motion filed in New York and Colorado lays out a conspiracy in which Zazi allegedly 'received detailed bomb-making instructions in Pakistan, purchased components of improvised explosive devices, and traveled to New York City on September 10, 2009, in furtherance of his criminal plans.' Among evidence it cites are records obtained in searches of Zazi's e-mail accounts and laptop computer. Prosecutors now are seeking to extradite Zazi from Colorado, where he was arrested Sept. 19 on charges of lying to the FBI in a matter involving international and domestic terrorism. The government is asking that those charges be dismissed and that Zazi be transferred to New York to face the new conspiracy charge. 'We are investigating a wide range of leads related to this alleged conspiracy, and we will continue to work around the clock to ensure that anyone involved is brought to justice,' Attorney General Eric Holder said in a statement. 'We believe any imminent threat arising from this case has been disrupted, but as always, we remind the American public to be vigilant and to report any suspicious activity to law enforcement.' Zazi, who worked as a Denver airport shuttle bus driver before his arrest, has publicly denied participating in any terrorist plot. However, he has reportedly admitted to federal agents that he received weapons and explosives training in a part of Pakistan where al-Qaida operates. Also arrested in the case were his father, Mohammed Wali Zazi, 53, and a Muslim prayer leader in Queens, N.Y., Ahmad Wais Afzali, 37. Afzali was due in court Thursday to argue that he is not a flight risk and should be released on bail. His attorney has denied that Afzali is a terrorist and said he should be charged only with 'criminal stupidity for trying to help the FBI and answer their questions.' The detention motion for Najibullah Zazi says he 'poses a significant danger to the community if released.' It adds: 'The evidence at trial will show that Zazi remained committed to detonating an explosive device up until the date of his arrest,' as shown by traveling overseas to receive bomb-making instructions, researching components of explosive devices, buying such components and driving from Colorado to New York City earlier this month. The motion says he gathered information on how to make explosives containing triacetone triperoxide (TATP), the explosive used in the 2005 London train bombings and a 2001 plot by convicted 'shoe bomber' Richard Reid. The London bombings, carried out by four British Muslims, killed 56 people, including the bombers, and injured about 700 others. Reid was arrested in the United States after passengers aboard a U.S. airliner prevented him from detonating explosives concealed in his shoes. In July and August, the government charges, Zazi and associates 'purchased unusually large quantities of hydrogen peroxide and acetone products' -- two components of TATP -- from beauty supply stores in the Denver area. Prosecutors say Zazi planned to acquire another key ingredient from a home improvement store in Queens. On Sept. 6 and 7, the detention motion says, Zazi repeatedly attempted to communicate urgently with an unspecified individual 'seeking to correct mixtures of ingredients to make explosives,' emphasizing that 'he needed the answers right away.' On those same days, he rented a hotel suite in Aurora where subsequent FBI testing revealed acetone residue in a vent above the stove, the document says. Zazi left Colorado in a rented car on Sept. 9 and arrived in New York the next day, then learned that law enforcement officers were tracking his activities and flew back to Denver on Sept. 12, the document says. Neither the detention motion nor the indictment specifies when or where Zazi was allegedly plotting to carry out an attack. 