The alleged terror plot aimed at New York City that has led to the arrests of three men may be only partially disrupted, law enforcement officials cautioned Monday.
Authorities said hat they may not know the full scope of the alleged conspiracy and could not rule out the continuation of the plans by other conspirators in New York or other cities.
New York is widely assumed to be the target of the potential attack, but other locations could not be ruled out.
Authorities say Najibullah Zazi, a 24-year-old Colorado resident born in Afghanistan, is a central figure in the plot. Zazi was arrested along with his father, Mohammed Wali Zazi, in Denver Saturday.
Ahmad Wais Afzali, a 37-year-old imam in Queens, NY was also arrested.
The three are charged with lying to federal investigators and are expected to appear in court Monday.
Law enforcement officials said that they’ve identified a “core group” of a dozen individuals in New York and Denver who were either aware of or had contact with the three suspects.
Those people are aware that they are under suspicion and some, but not all, have been interviewed by authorities.
Officials also said they are continuing to consider more substantial charges against the suspects in custody. Right now, authorities are using the charges of making false statements to the government as leverage in the hopes of getting additional information.
