Faisal Shahzad charged in 10-count indictment

Faisal Shahzad was charged in a 10-count indictment Thursday with getting training and $12,000 cash linked to the Pakistani group Tehrik-e-Taliban in an attempt to set off a car bomb in Times Square last month.

The indictment charges the Pakistani-American with an array of crimes including four counts of conspiracy - to use a weapon of mass destruction, to commit an act of terrorism, to transport explosives and to destroy property with an explosive.

Shahzad, 30, faces life in prison on six different counts.

Tracking previously known claims by the government, the indictment alleges that Shahzad attempted to detonate his Nissan Pathfinder on May 1 at 45th Street and Seventh Avenue in Manhattan.

The improvised bomb - made up of gasoline, fireworks, propane and fertilizer - fizzled, and Shahzad, of Bridgeport, Conn., was captured two days later aboard a flight at Kennedy Airport that was destined for Dubai.

After his capture on May 3, Shahzad began cooperating with the government and was not presented in court until May 18. He will be arraigned on the indictment in federal court in Manhattan on Monday before U.S. District Judge Miriam Cedarbaum.

The Justice Department emphasized the foreign source of Shahzad's alleged terrorism. The indictment, adding five counts to a criminal complaint that was filed in May, charges that Shahzad received explosives training from trainers affiliated with the Pakistani Taliban in the province of Waziristan last December.

It also says that an unnamed co-conspirator - designated "CC-1" - who Shahzad understood had links to the Pakistani Taliban, was responsible for transmitting funds of $5,000 to him in Massachusetts on Feb. 25 and another $7,000 that was passed to Shahzad in Ronkonkoma on April 10.

In addition to the bomb components, the indictment says, Shahzad purchased the Pathfinder in April, a prepaid cellular telephone, and a semiautomatic 9-mm Kel Tec rifle that he had with him when he drove to Kennedy to escape.

"The facts alleged in this indictment show that the Pakistani Taliban facilitated Faisal Shahzad's attempted attack on American soil," Attorney General Eric Holder said in a statement. "Our nation averted serious loss of life in this attempted bombing, but it is a reminder that we face an evolving threat that we must continue to fight with every tool available to the government."

"Today's indictment is a stark reminder that New York remains a terrorist target and that we must be vigilant to protect the city," said New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly.

Shahzad's lawyer, federal public defender Julia Gatto, did not return a call for comment.

In addition to the conspiracy charges, Shahzad is accused of attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction, possession of a firearm, attempting an act of terrorism, attempted use of a destructive device, transportation of an explosive and attempted destruction of property.