The next Timothy McVeigh?

[Gob]

US hunts New York car bomb clues

Investigators are poring over a wealth of evidence to find out who tried to detonate a car bomb in Times Square - New York's bustling entertainment area.

The bomb, described as "amateurish", consisted of propane tanks, fireworks, petrol and a clock device. It was planted in a sports utility vehicle.

NYC police commissioner Ray Kelly said there was no evidence to support a Taliban link to the bomb attempt.

It followed a claim by the Pakistani Taliban early on Sunday.

In a video message purportedly released by the Pakistani Taliban, the militants said it was a revenge attack for the deaths of its leader and the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq.

“ We avoided what could have been a very deadly event ”
Michael Bloomberg New York Mayor

At a news conference on Sunday, Mr Kelly said the device in the Nissan Pathfinder consisted of two clocks connected by wires to a can, which they believed was the detonator, propane tanks and a gun locker.

Mr Kelly also said a white man in his 40s was seen removing a dark shirt in the area and putting it in a bag.

The commissioner added that police would shortly speak to a person in Pennsylvania who believed he may have recorded the man on a video camera.

Experts still had a huge amount of camera footage to pore over, Mr Kelly said.

"It's not easy to go through these tapes. I think we had 82 cameras in the area - we've looked at 30 of those cameras. Three of them had some value," he said.

Earlier on Sunday, US Homeland Security Chief Janet Napolitano said so far there was no evidence that it was more than a "one-off event".

But she added that it was regarded as "a potential terrorist attack".

The vehicle has been sent to a forensic lab in the city's Queens district, after police had conducted a controlled explosion to make it safe, and Times Square was reopened.

Part of the district - where many theatres are sited - had been sealed off on Saturday night after the bomb alert.

"There are forensics in terms of video or possible video that might exist. There is a lot of evidence being tracked down by a lot of people right now," Ms Napolitano said.

Both US President Barack Obama and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg praised the quick response by the New York Police Department.

"We are very lucky," Mr Bloomberg told reporters. "We avoided what could have been a very deadly event."

He said the bomb "looked amateurish", but could have exploded, adding that the incident was a "reminder of the dangers that we face". "We have no idea who did this or why," he said.

Police believe the intention was to ignite a fireball.

Domestic right-wing extremists have carried out attacks in the past, including the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing which killed 168 people. But those groups usually target government buildings.

There are also some similarities to the failed 2007 attack on the Tiger Tiger nightclub in London, in which a car bomb fizzled and failed to go off. That was carried out by individuals inspired by al-Qaeda's ideology, but who had no real contact with the organisation itself. The relative amateurishness of the Times Square explosive device at least suggests a similar possibility this time.

For many years, the US expressed some relief that it appeared immune from the so-called home-grown radicalisation witnessed in the UK and Europe. But recently there have been a number of arrests and growing evidence of jihadists based in the US turning to terrorism, including some arrests in New York itself.

Correspondents say the New York Police Department is on constant alert after a series of alleged terror plots in the wake of the 9/11 attacks.

Police acted on a tip-off from a street vendor - a Vietnam War veteran, who saw smoke coming from the SUV parked on 45th Street and Seventh Avenue at about 1830 (2230 GMT) on Saturday.

The vehicle had its engine running and hazard lights flashing, officials said.

Duane Jackson, a 58-year-old handbag vendor, said he had spotted the car parked illegally and when he examined it he saw keys in the ignition with about 20 keys on a ring.

He said he alerted a passing mounted police officer.

"That's when the smoke started coming out and then we heard the little pop, pop, pop - like firecrackers going out and that's when everybody scattered and ran back," he told the Associated Press. "We dodged a bullet here," he added.

Police shut down several blocks of Times Square, as well as subway lines, while a robotic arm broke windows of the vehicle.

"There were explosive elements, including powder, gasoline, propane and some kind of electrical wires attached to a clock," police spokesman Paul Browne said.

"No motive has been identified," he added.

Police have established that the car's registration plates do not match up with the Nissan. They belonged to a car owner in the state of Connecticut, who told officers he had sent the plates to a junkyard.

Most Broadway shows went ahead despite the alert.

On everyone's mind is the city's darkest day, the September 2001 attack on the Twin Towers just a few miles away, says the BBC's Barbara Plett in New York.

The most recent terror alert in New York City involved a plot to set off suicide bombs in the subway system.

Earlier this year an Afghan immigrant, Najibullah Zazi, and an associate, Zarein Ahmedzay, both pleaded guilty in connection with the attempt.

Last year four New Yorkers went on trial accused of plotting to bomb synagogues in the city and fire missiles at military aircraft.


Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/a ... 657161.stm

Published: 2010/05/02 21:32:12 GMT

[Big RR]

I started to see a trend here in the bungled attempts to set off bombs, from the christmas holiday underwear bomber to this. It's clearly not any real terrorist organizations behind it--they usually know what they're doing (reports here were that the fertilizer he put in the trunk (mixed with the fuel oil to form and explosive, no report one way or the other) was not an ammonium nitrat containing fertilizer--what self respecting terrorist would make that mistake. Either we have a bunch ofinept copycats, or someone (be it the government or some private group) is trying to stir the fear in the people by reminding them we could be sitting ducks (which we always could). Quite frankly, if the terorists were this inept, i wouldn't really be all that concerned--sure they may score a bullseye now an again, but then so could a speeding car smashing into a crowd or sidewalk cafe.

[Gob]

Neat observation BigRR.

This one certainly smacked of amateurism. Let's not forget that McVeigh was an army trained explosives expert, the person who did this was totally inept.

But still, what was the motivation behind it?

[@meric@nwom@n]

Not a home grown boy at all.

[Gob]

NY suspect charged with terrorism

A Pakistan-born US citizen has been charged with terrorism over the failed car-bomb attack in New York's Times Square on Saturday.

Faisal Shahzad, 30, was also charged with attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction, according to documents filed at Manhattan federal court.

Mr Shahzad was arrested on a Dubai-bound plane at JFK airport on Monday.

Earlier, President Barack Obama vowed that Americans would "not cower in fear" after Saturday's bombing attempt.

He said the incident was a "sobering reminder of the times in which we live" and vowed that justice would be done.

Mr Shahzad is believed to have bought an SUV that was found loaded with an improvised explosive device in Times Square.

Investigators said the Connecticut resident had implicated himself and told them he was acting alone.

But he admitted to having attended a militant training camp in the lawless Pakistani tribal region of Waziristan, they added.

Reports from Pakistan had said Mr Shahzad's father-in-law and another associate of the suspect have been arrested in the port city of Karachi - although officials later denied making any arrests.

Mr Obama said the FBI and police had "all the tools they need to learn everything we can".

"That includes what, if any connection, this individual has to terrorist groups," he said in a speech to the Business Council in Washington.

"Justice will be done and we will continue to do everything in our power to protect the American people."

Mr Obama said "hundreds of lives" might have been saved by the vigilance and quick action of citizens and the authorities in New York.

"We know that the aim of those who try to carry out those attacks is to force us to live in fear," he said.

"But as Americans and as a nation, we will not be terrorised. We will not cower in fear. We will not be intimidated."

Earlier, law enforcement officials said Mr Shahzad had made statements implicating himself and told them he had acted alone.

"He's admitted to buying the truck, putting the devices together, putting them in the truck, leaving the truck there and leaving the scene," one unnamed source told the Reuters news agency.

"He's claimed to have acted alone. He did admit to all the charges."

The FBI searched Mr Shahzad's home in Bridgeport, Connecticut, on Tuesday morning and removed several filled plastic bags.

Investigators are also looking into Mr Shahzad's activities during a recent trip to Pakistan, and are trying to ascertain whether he or others who might have been involved were in contact with people or groups overseas.

Sources told the BBC that Mr Shahzad was in Karachi for at least a month last year and other reports say he spent some months in the frontier city of Peshawar, close to Taliban strongholds and training grounds.

Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik has pledged to assist the US in identifying those responsible and bringing them to justice.

On Sunday, the Pakistani Taliban said it was responsible for the failed bombing attempt and it threatened suicide attacks on US cities.

But the BBC's Orla Guerin in Islamabad says there is no proof and many experts doubt they have the capacity to strike inside the US.

The car containing a bomb made from fertiliser, fireworks, petrol and propane gas tanks was left in Times Square on Saturday evening.

The 1993 Nissan Pathfinder was parked with its engine running and hazard lights flashing.

The bomb was discovered and dismantled before it could explode, after a street-vendor noticed smoke coming from the vehicle and alerted police.

Times Square was packed with tourists and theatregoers when the alarm was raised.

Police evacuated a wide area of the district and closed subway lines, while a controlled explosion was carried out.

Officials said the bomb was crude, but could have sparked a "significant fireball" and sprayed shrapnel with enough force to kill pedestrians and knock out windows.

Investigators initially focused on a man who was seen on one video walking away from the area where the car was parked. He looked over his shoulder at least twice and pulled off a shirt, revealing a red T-shirt underneath.

New York's police commissioner said investigators still wanted to speak to the man, but acknowledged that he might not be connected to the bombing attempt.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/a ... 660370.stm

Published: 2010/05/04 20:02:16 GMT

[Jarlaxle]

Let's not forget that McVeigh was an army trained explosives expert, the person who did this was totally inept.

Despite 5 months in Pakistan at Al Qaeda training camps. Geez, this dude was stupid.

Seems the guy changing his shirt might just be...a guy changing his shirt.