Political India: Engaging America

From The Hindu

Faisal Shahzad, a Pakistan-born citizen of the United States, was arrested on Monday night in connection with the Times Square bomb incident, even as he tried to board a flight from New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport to Dubai, the U.S. Department of Justice said.

The DoJ said, “At approximately 11:45 P.M. EDT, Faisal Shahzad was taken into custody. Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and detectives of the New York City Police Department arrested Shahzad for allegedly driving a car bomb into Times Square on the evening of May 1, 2010.”

Mr. Shahzad, who is a naturalised U.S. citizen, was stopped from boarding the flight after he was identified by the Department of Homeland Security's Customs and Border Protection. The DoJ said he would appear in the Manhattan federal court on May 4 to be presented on formal charges.

“We will not rest until every terrorist, whether home-grown or foreign-based, is neutralised and held to account,” said United States Attorney Preet Bharara, FBI Special Agent-in-Charge George Venizelos, and New York City Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly in a joint statement.

Earlier U.S. Attorney-General Eric Holder noted that multiple federal authorities had “worked night and day to find out who was responsible for what would have been a deadly attack had it been successful.” He added, “It is clear that the intent behind this terrorist act was to kill Americans.”

Mr. Holder emphasised the importance of public vigilance to the case: “We continue to gather leads in this investigation, and it is important that the American people remain vigilant,” he said, adding that the vehicle in Times Square was first noticed on Saturday by a citizen who reported it to authorities.

Describing the investigation as “multi-faceted” and “aggressive,” Mr. Holder also hinted at a wider inquiry including foreign entities: “As we move forward, we will focus on not just holding those responsible for it accountable, but also on obtaining any intelligence about terrorist organizations overseas.”

Labels: Faisal Shahzad, Pakistani-American, Terror plot, Times Square

From The Hindu

Following a major bomb scare in New York’s bustling Times Square on Saturday, police were reported to be examining a surveillance video showing a man removing his shirt and glancing back in the direction of the vehicle that contained the bomb.

The video, released by the New York Police Department, shows an unidentified white man walking down an alley and stopping briefly to remove his shirt. The man, who was wearing a red shirt underneath, is then seen looking backwards in the direction of the Nissan Pathfinder vehicle which was giving out smoke. He is then seen placing his first shirt in a bag and walking away.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, in a television interview cautioned that “the person on the tape may not become a suspect”. He said there were virtually millions of people that come through Times Square and “this person happened to be in a position in which a camera got a good shot of him”. He added it was possible this individual had something to do with the bomb but there was “a very good chance that he did not”.

No evidence to support Taliban claim

Police also addressed reports of videos posted to the Internet over the weekend, apparently suggesting that the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for the planned attack. At a press conference Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said, “Although a Taliban bomb-maker has claimed on the internet that the car bomb was placed in Times Square to avenge the deaths of Mujahideen fighters, we have no evidence to support this claim.”

Mr. Kelly added that though they had not yet determined whether the car bomb was linked to “any specific terrorist organisation,” they were working closely with the Federal Bureau of Investigation through the Joint Terrorism Task force. He noted, “Our investigators have developed leads that may assist us in identifying the individual responsible for the attempted car bombing in Times Square last night.”

Mr. Bloomberg similarly reiterated there was “no legitimate evidence” of a link to al-Qaeda, the Taliban or any other militant group. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano mentioned in a media interview that nothing had been ruled out yet, and “Right now, every lead has to be pursued… I caution against premature decisions one way or another.”

Providing a few more details regarding the explosive device itself Mr. Kelly said, “In essence our initial take is that it is incendiary in nature… Of course if this had detonated, in my judgement, would have caused casualties with a significant fireball. I am told that the vehicle itself would have been cut in half. You have large numbers of pedestrians in that area so yes, we were lucky that it did not detonate.”

Labels: New York, Taliban, Times Square

From The Hindu

Police averted a “very deadly event” when they discovered an explosive device in a car in the bustling Times Square area of New York City on Saturday night.

Reports said that a local vendor noticed smoke coming out of a parked Nissan Pathfinder sport utility vehicle and alerted police. Police then used a robot from their bomb squad to break through the back window of the SUV and retrieve the items in the vehicle after several hours.

In a statement Michael Bloomberg, New York Mayor, said a suspicious vehicle in Times Square “did indeed contain an explosive device.” He added, “It certainly could have exploded and had a pretty big fire and a decent amount of explosive impact.”

At a press conference Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly was reported as saying the car contained three propane tanks, consumer-grade fireworks, two filled 5-gallon gasoline containers, and two clocks with batteries, electrical wire and other components.

He also noted that a black metal box resembling a gun locker was recovered. There was no positive match to the license plate and police were said to be looking for additional surveillance video. After discovering the “amateurish” bomb, police rapidly cleared the tourist-packed area and dismantled the vehicle, authorities were quoted as saying.

They also said that President Barack Obama had been updated on the situation on Saturday night and had said that the federal government was prepared to provide support. The Department of Homeland Security was also reported to be monitoring developments.

In a statement New York Governor David Paterson praised the “heroic actions” of the New York Police Department and “a single vigilant New Yorker who identified a suspicious vehicle.” He added, "Now the full attention of city, state and federal law enforcement will be turned to bringing the guilty party to justice in this act of terrorism."

Media reports quoted two federal officials as saying that it was too early to tell whether the incident involved Al Qaeda or another international terror group and the national threat level remained at "yellow," or elevated.

Times Square, an iconic spot the heart of New York’s Manhattan and a magnet for tourists and locals alike, has been a target of terrorist plans on earlier occasions too. Investigations into a plot to bomb the subway station in Times Square led to the arrest last September of terror suspect Najibullah Zazi.

Labels: Car bomb, Times Square