Metro

‘Qaeda’ mom tossed from Manhattan courtroom

An MIT-trained scientist charged with shooting at GIs in Afghanistan was thrown out of a Manhattan courtroom today after proclaiming her innocence following a tirade-filled outburst.

Aafia Siddiqui, whom the FBI had sought for years for suspected ties to al Qaeda, shouted, “Since I’ll never get a chance to speak, if you were in a secret prison … where children were tortured. This is no list of targets against New York. I was never planning to bomb it.“

Siddiqui’s rant was aimed at Army Capt. Robert Snyder, who was testifying in Manhattan federal court that she had been arrested with a handwritten note outlining plans to attack the Empire State Building, the Brooklyn Bridge and Wall Street.

While Snyder testified, it took the outburst-prone Siddiqui just 90 minutes into her trial to disrupt the proceedings. That’s when she stood up and shouted, “Since I’ll never get a chance to speak” — before continuing her tirade with a plea of innocence.

She had stayed mostly silent during opening statements.

Earlier in the day, even before the trial began, Siddiqui had an outburst.

“The president has to meet with me,” she said, after turning to the gallery while the judge asked her a series of questions. “It’s important!”

Siddiqui’s trial, which began this morning, comes after she extradited to this country in August 2008 on federal charges of attempted murder and assault.

She allegedly shot at two FBI special agents, a US Army officer and other military personnel while being held at an Afghan facility in July 2008.

Authorities said Siddiqui, who was behind a curtain, fired two shots at personnel with an officer’s rifle, but no one was struck.

Afghan police had arrested Siddiqui earlier outside the Ghazni governor’s compound after finding her with bomb-making instructions with descriptions of US landmarks.