NEW YORK, July 24 (UPI) -- A New York man who pleaded guilty to charges of aiding al-Qaida said he was ready to take on a suicide mission but was told he needed more religious training.
Bryant Neal Vinas, who pleaded guilty to the charges in January, said he was prepared to be a suicide bomber during interviews with Belgian prosecutors building a terrorism case against a cell to which Vinas had ties, CNN reported Friday based on a prosecution summary of the interviews it obtained.
The French-language document details how Vinas traveled from New York to Pakistan and what he did while he was there, from becoming a member of al-Qaida to military training he received. He said he was asked to become a suicide bomber, but told he needed more religious training, which he said he received in Pakistan.
Vinas, 26, pleaded guilty in January to charges of conspiracy to murder U.S. nationals, providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization and receiving military-type training from a foreign terrorist organization, the FBI said Wednesday.
He pleaded guilty to participating in a September 2008 attack on a U.S. combat outpost in Afghanistan, authorities told CNN.
The federal agency would not say whether Vinas has been sentenced.
Belgian officials were interested in Vinas after security services received indications that a terrorist attack may occur in Belgium.
