An Ohio truck driver who met Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan and plotted to destroy the Brooklyn Bridge has pleaded guilty to providing support to al-Qaeda.
Mr Iyman Faris, a truck driver based in Columbus who entered the United States in 1994 and became a US citizen five years later, admitted he gave al-Qaeda information about possible US targets for attack, US officials said.
He had surveyed the Brooklyn Bridge to see if its suspension cables could be severed. None of the plotted attacks were ever carried out.
Mr Faris (34), who was born in Kashmir, admitted his guilt as part of a plea deal with US government prosecutors. He faces up to 20 years in prison and a $500,000 fine at his August 1st sentencing.
The guilty plea to supporting and conspiring to support al-Qaeda was entered at a closed hearing on May 1st.
Mr Faris admitted traveling with a friend from Pakistan to Afghanistan in late 2000. At a training camp in Afghanistan, he was introduced to bin Laden, US Attorney General John Ashcroft said.