The al Qaeda-linked thugs behind the New York subway bomb plot also were set to spread their reign of terror to England -- targeting prime spots there for bombings, too, authorities revealed yesterday.

Indicted in the deadly multinational scheme yesterday were one of al Qaeda's chiefs of "external operations," Adnan el Shukrijumah, who is believed to be hiding in Afghanistan.

He was among five men charged in Brooklyn federal court with conspiring to murder city straphangers with subway bombings, as well as launch more attacks on civilians in public places in Manchester, England.

Authorities say el Shukrijumah, 34, recruited three men in Britain -- Tariq Ur Rehman, Abid Naseer and a man referred to only as "Ahmed" by authorities -- to blow up the public areas in Manchester in April 2009, according to the complaint.

At the same time, he was tapping three former Queens high school classmates -- Najibulla Zazi, Zarein Ahmedzay and Adis Medunjanin -- to murder New Yorkers on the subway in September 2009, the feds say.

Zazi and Ahmedzay pleaded guilty to their role in the plot earlier this year and are cooperating with the feds, according to records.

In a bizarre twist, the pair's plea agreement, which was unsealed yesterday, show that both men could actually be in line for a sweetheart deal in exchange for their cooperation, which is believed to have led to yesterday's indictment.

The men could be freed -- with special visas that allow them to stay in the country and even enter the witness-protection program.

The news comes even after Attorney General Eric Holder called the plot "one of the most serious in the United States since Sept. 11, 2001."

Ron Kuby -- a lawyer who represented an imam tied to the case -- said he was surprised at the possible move.

"The S Visa -- or, as we call them, the 'snitch visa' -- is usually reserved for those that render great service and don't intend great harm," Kuby said.

But both men still face sentencing -- as much as life in prison -- before a federal judge.

Naseer and Rehman were released by British police in 2009 shortly after their arrest. Naseer was rearrested yesterday morning and is expected to be extradited to the United States to stand trial. Rehman, who was deported to Pakistan after his arrest, is still at large.

The feds slapped Medunjanin with further charges that he tried to kill himself and others on the Whitestone Expressway when he fled capture by police.

"This doesn't change the fact that my client intends to take this to trial and let a jury decide," said Robert Gottlieb, his lawyer.