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May 5, 2010

U.S.: Suspect Admits to Failed Times Square Bombing
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The U.S. government says the suspect in the failed Times Square car
bombing has admitted to carrying out the attempted attack. The suspect,
Faisal Shahzad, was arrested Monday night after boarding a plane bound
for Dubai. U.S. officials say he’s also admitted to receiving explosives
training in Pakistan and is cooperating with investigators. In
Washington, Attorney General Eric Holder said Shahzad will be charged
with act of terrorism and attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction.

Attorney General Eric Holder: “Based on what we know so far, it is clear
that this was a terrorist plot aimed at murdering Americans in one of
the busiest places in our country. We believe that this suspected
terrorist fashioned a bomb from rudimentary ingredients, placed it in a
rusty S.U.V. and drove it into Times Square with the intent to kill as
many innocent tourists and theater-goers as possible. Now, make no
mistake, although this car bomb failed to properly detonate, this plot
was a very serious attempt. If successful, it could have resulted in a
lethal terrorist attack, causing death and destruction in the heart of
New York City.”

Several questions have surrounded Shahzad’s arrest, including how he
briefly eluded law enforcement surveillance and how he was eventually
tracked down. Law enforcement officials had placed Shahzad under
surveillance on Sunday but lost track of him sometime before he made his
way to New York’s John F. Kennedy airport the next day. He was also
allowed to board his flight despite being placed on a no-fly list. A CBS
News affiliate reported Tuesday Shahzad was captured in part because
U.S. military surveillance planes circling the New York area were able
to track his cell phone number. Meanwhile, more details have emerged
about Shahzad’s background, including that his home was recently
foreclosed and that he once privately expressed disdain for former
President George W. Bush and the U.S. invasion of Iraq.



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