Najibullah Zazi was arrested earlier this year on charges of plotting to bomb the New York City transit system on the anniversary of September 11th. Now it would seem that the terror suspect wasn’t acting on his own, but rather in co-ordination with the highest levels of the Al Qaeda terror group.

U.S. intelligence officials have told the Associated Press that Zazi, a native of Afghanistan, had been in contact with Mustafa Abu al-Yazid, a close ally of Osama Bin Laden’s and one of the men who helped build Bin Laden’s terror network. al-Yazid has said before that he would use nuclear weapons against the United States if he can get his hands on them.

Mustafa Abu al-Yazid, an Egyptian reputed to be one of the founders of the terrorist network, used a middleman to contact Afghan immigrant Najibullah Zazi as the 24-year-old man hatched a plot to use homemade backpack bombs, perhaps on the city’s mass transit system, the two intelligence officials said.

Intelligence officials declined to discuss the nature of the contact or whether al-Yazid contacted Zazi to offer simple encouragement or help with the bombing plot prosecutors say Zazi was pursuing.

Al-Yazid’s contact with Zazi indicates that al-Qaida leadership took an intense interest in what U.S. officials have called one of the most serious terrorism threats crafted on U.S. soil since the 9/11 attacks.

Fun fact via Ed Morrissey: al-Yazid runs the Al Qaeda operation in Afghanistan, from which liberals want to withdraw American troops and Obama National Security Advisor Jim Jones claims poses no major threat.

Jones also said that “the al Qaeda presence is very diminished” in Afghanistan. “The maximum estimate is less than 100 operating in the country,” he said, adding that al Qaeda operatives in Afghanistan have no bases or real ability to launch effective attacks.

Yeah, well, surprise! Apparently you don’t need that many people to co-ordinate major terror attacks against the United States. Just the right people at the right time.

This once again underlines the threat posed to the United States by jihadist groups operating from the countries in which we’re currently fighting. We must strengthen our commitment to defeating these people — not cut-and-run from that fight. We’ve already been shown that our national security depends on winning.