New terror plot details mirror Oklahoma City bombing

TERROR PLOT SPECIAL SECTION
AURORA - New details uncovered by 9Wants to Know on Wednesday revealed a Denver airport shuttle driver may have been planning an attack similar to the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.

Multiple sources tell 9NEWS that twenty-four-year-old terror suspect Najibullah Zazi and several accomplices were videotaped trying to rent U-Haul trucks in Aurora.

U-Haul International, Inc. confirmed Wednesday afternoon that it turned over security camera tapes to the FBI.

"We do not know who was on those security tapes that we gave to the FBI," said Joanne Fried, spokesperson for U-Haul International. "We are fully cooperating with local law enforcement."

Fried said she did not know which U-Haul store the tapes were obtained from.

Other sources tell 9NEWS the videotapes were seized from the U-Haul store on 750 S. Buckley Road.

The attempts at renting U-Haul trucks happened in the week leading up to the Sept. 11 anniversary, according to multiple sources.

In the 1995 bombing in Oklahoma City, American terrorists used rental trucks packed with explosives to level a federal building, killing 168 people and injuring more than 600 others. In 1993, terrorists used a vehicle filled with explosives in an attack on the World Trade Center that killed six people and injured more than 1,000 others.

Bryan Cunningham, who is a former Department of Justice Attorney, former Senior CIA officer and a drafter of the Homeland Security Act said this information could detail a plot larger than previously thought.

"If you're now talking about them trying to use U-Hauls as bombs, that is a much, much, much bigger operation. Remember Oklahoma City?" said Cunningham. "This creates a much bigger order of magnitude threat."

Earlier this month, authorities said they found 12 backpacks in raids in New York homes here Zazi had been staying with friends. While backpack bombs can be devastating, Cunningham said truck bombs pose even bigger threats and concerns.

Other sources tell 9NEWS the men asked clerks about different vehicles for rent, discussed how they could put down a deposit, and then left without the trucks they said they wanted to rent.

U-Haul International, Inc. would not release copies of the security videotapes. Instead, the spokesperson referred reporters to the FBI which had no comment.

Cunningham said in an interview with 9NEWS Wednesday he is concerned the men were trying to rent more than one truck.

"If in fact they were renting multiple vehicles, that's a very serious concern," Cunningham said. "That's another trademark of Al-Qaeda: multiple, simultaneous attacks."

In court records released last week, prosecutors outlined how they suspect Zazi and others bought hair products containing hydrogen peroxide and acetone from beauty supply stores in Aurora. Videotape of a man prosecutors say is Zazi inside the Beauty Warehouse located at I-225 and 6th Ave. has since been released.

9Wants to Know also discovered the FBI has visited home improvement stores in the area trying to match names and faces to individuals who purchased muriatic acid.

Court records confirm instructions on how to turn a combination of these chemicals into bombs, such as those used in the London bombings, were found in Zazi's laptop computer.

9Wants to Know surveyed other U-Haul dealers in Aurora. At least four other locations say they were visited by the FBI and were asked to identify names and pictures of several individuals provided by agents. U-Haul workers told 9NEWS one of those photographs was of Zazi.

An employee of the dealer, located at 15601 E. 6th Ave., was able to identify a name and photograph provided by the FBI. It was not clear whether the man who matched the name was able to rent a truck.

Zazi's defense attorney in Denver Wednesday told 9Wants to Know that he's unaware of his client doing anything like that.

"I'd have to reserve comments until I talk to the FBI, look at the video and have a chance to talk to my client," Attorney Arthur Folsom told Reporter Deborah Sherman. "There are many reasons to want to rent trucks in Colorado and it sounds like he didn't do it."

Zazi was arraigned on Tuesday on one count of conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction.

Following the hearing, Zazi's attorney, J. Michael Dowling, told reporters he hasn't seen any evidence so far to prove his client had the intent to build a bomb.

"I'd like to stop this rush to judgment because what I've seen so far does not amount to a conspiracy," Dowling told reporters gathered outside the courtroom on Tuesday.

But Cunningham said this information and the video will be extremely helpful to prosecutors.

"Certainly, it's of great assistance in prosecuting the case," Cunningham said. "There's nothing better for a jury, for a prosecutor, than being able to show videotape of the suspect that the jurors themselves can watch and say, 'Oh right, that's the guy.'"

Zazi maintained his innocence leading up to his arrest on September 19. He officially pleaded not guilty to the charges against him Tuesday in New York.

If you have any news tips, please email 9Wants to Know Investigator Deborah.Sherman@9NEWS.com.