The "Accidental" Terrorist

Thursday's the next big day for the trio of men at the center of a suspected terrorist plot in Queens.

Until then, Najibullah Zazi and his father, Mohammed, will remain safely locked up in Denver -- while Flushing imam and funeral director (just not sure that second designation's ever getting old) Ahmad Wais Afzali will be held locally. All three of them appeared in court yesterday to answer charges of being involved in what a panic-stricken media is already calling "the most dangerous terrorist plot since 9/11."

Afzali's an informant for the government who's accused of tipping off Zazi to the fact that the feds were onto him. He maintains his innocence. For his part, Zazi admits that there were bomb-making instructions on his computer, but says he must've accidentally downloaded them as part of a religious book. Think of it kind of like Andy Dufresne hiding the gun in the Bible in The Shawshank Redemption -- only a thousand times worse.

Meanwhile, police and feds tore through several Queens storage sites yesterday, looking for possible explosive materials -- and the Daily News is reporting that Zazi copped to being a jihadist bent on raining holy fire down on New York.

Investigators say they're not sure when any bombing was to take place or where the attack would happen, but they claim they found maps detailing, among other locations, Bryant Park and local sports complexes.