A Pakistani-born Virginia man was arrested Wednesday and charged with trying to help people posing as al-Qaida operatives plot to bomb Washington area subway stations.
The bombing plot was a ruse over the past six months, the FBI said, but 34-year-old Farooque Ahmed readily handed over video of northern Virginia subway stations, suggested using rolling suitcases rather than backpacks to kill as many people as possible and offered to donate money to al-Qaida's cause overseas.
The public never was in danger because FBI agents were aware of Ahmed's activities and monitored him throughout, the agency said. And the people that Ahmed thought were al-Qaida operatives were actually individuals who "worked on behalf of the government in this matter," according to a federal law enforcement official who requested anonymity to discuss details of the case.