New York ( CNN ) -- A New York taxi driver pleaded guilty Friday to involvement in a plot to blow up crowded subway trains . After entering his plea Zarein Ahmedzay delivered a message : `` I strongly urge the American people to stop supporting the war against Islam , '' he said , adding , `` I am thankful for myself that I did not do anything to harm anyone but fear someone else will do the same thing . '' Prosecutors said Ahmedzay and another man , Adis Medunjanin , conspired with Najibullah Zazi on the attack in mid-September 2009 , which authorities thwarted . Zazi pleaded guilty and has been cooperating with authorities , investigators have said . Medunjanin has pleaded not guilty . During Ahmedzay 's hearing , prosecutors for the first time revealed the names of the two al Qaeda leaders who , officials said , ordered the plot : Saleh al-Somali , head of international operations for al Qaeda , and Rashid Rauf , a key operative . U.S. officials said both al Qaeda figures were killed in drone in attacks in Waziristan , the tribal region along the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan . Rauf was reported killed in a drone attack in Waziristan in November 2008 ; al-Somali was reported killed in December 2009 , U.S. officials said . U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder , in a written statement , said the facts disclosed Friday `` add chilling details to what we know was a deadly plot hatched by al Qaeda leaders overseas to kill scores of Americans in the New York City subway system in September 2009 . This plot , as well as others we have encountered , makes clear we face a continued threat from al Qaeda and its affiliates overseas . '' `` Prosecution underscores the importance of using every tool we have available to both disrupt plots against our nation and hold suspected terrorists accountable , '' Holder said . Ahmedzay previously pleaded not guilty to making false statements to the FBI about the plot . But Friday , appearing before before Chief U.S. Magistrate Judge Steven M. Gold in U.S. District Court , he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to use a weapon of mass of destruction against people in the United States ; conspiracy to commit murder ; and providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization . Ahmedzay told the court that he , Zazi and a third man traveled to Pakistan in August 2008 to join jihadists fighting in Afghanistan , but they were turned away . But al Qaeda leaders in Pakistan told the group they would be more helpful to the jihad cause if they conducted suicide attacks in New York . `` We discussed the matter amongst ourselves , and we agreed to go forward with the plan , '' he said . `` I personally believed that conducting an operation in the United States would be the best way to end the wars . '' At one point , Ahmedzay said , he began to have second thoughts but ultimately committed to the plan . He said his primary input was to develop targets because he was a taxi driver and knew the city well . Eventually , the three settled on an attack on subway trains during the month of Ramadan , but abandoned that plan when they believed law enforcement was watching them . Ahmedzay concluded his statement to the court with his belief that `` Zionist Jews '' are `` the real enemies of this country '' who are `` destroying this country from within '' and `` want a permanent shadow government within the government of the United States . '' He faces a sentence of up to life in prison . He is scheduled to be sentenced at the end of July . `` Ahmedzay 's plea makes clear that he betrayed his adopted country and its people by providing support to al Qaeda and planning to bring deadly violence to New York , '' said FBI Director Robert S. Mueller in a written statement . Robert Gottlieb , attorney for Medunjanin , said Friday 's developments do not change his client 's plans to proceed to trial . `` The evidence and the facts as they pertain to him will come out in court , '' Gottlieb said . No trial date has been set for Medunjanin . CNN 's Jennifer Rizzo , Susan Candiotti and Terry Frieden contributed to this report .
Zarein Ahmedzay pleads guilty to conspiracy , faces possible life sentence . After plea , he urges people in U.S. `` to stop supporting the war against Islam '' Prosecutors reveal names of two al Qaeda leaders thought to have ordered the plot . The two , Saleh al-Somali and Rashid Rauf , both were killed in U.S. drone attacks .