American Pleads Guilty to Terror Plot

Bryant Neal Vinas, a 26-year-old born in Long Island, has made quite a journey from the New York area to Afghanistan and Pakistan, and then back to New York, this time in shackles. Vinas pleaded guilty to trying to kill U.S. troops in a rocket attack against a military base in Afghanistan, according to court papers unsealed on Wednesday. He also confessed to assisting Al Qaeda by providing “expert advice and assistance” that was “derived from specialized knowledge of the New York transit system and the Long Island Rail Road.” Vinas, who converted to Islam in Long Island, was arrested in Pakistan last November. Days later, he switched teams and began providing U.S. authorities with information about Al Qaeda, "including particulars of a plot to blow up a Long Island Rail Road train" inside Penn Station, The New York Times reports; he is now a valuable source to authorities. He is expected to be a key witness in two upcoming terror cases in Europe.