Failed car bomb was not al-Qaeda plot, says NY mayor

There is no evidence the failed attempt to detonate a car bomb in New York was the work of al-Qaeda or any other big terrorist group, the city's mayor says.

Michael Bloomberg spoke after police dismissed claims by a Pakistani Taliban group that it was responsible.
Investigators are hunting a middle-aged white man seen removing his shirt near the scene at Times Square on Saturday evening and stuffing it into a bag.

President Barack Obama has vowed the US will track down the perpetrators.
Investigators have been gathering evidence from the Nissan Pathfinder in which the homemade petrol and propane bomb was found.


The engine was still running with hazard lights flashing when the SUV, emitting smoke, attracted the attention of a street vendor.

Police evacuated part of the bustling entertainment district and shut subway lines, while a controlled explosion was carried out.

New York City Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said on Sunday the bomb was crude, but could have sparked a "significant fireball".

Another component of the device was a rifle cabinet packed with more than 100lb (45kg) of fertilizer, although police said it was not of a type volatile enough to explode.


Commissioner Kelly said they were looking for an unidentified white man, thought to be in his 40s, who was spotted behaving "furtively" nearby.


CCTV captured the suspect walking down an alley and changing a shirt, while looking back in the direction of the smoking SUV.

Police are also examining a home video taken by a tourist of a man seen near the car.

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 scrap-yard.

A Pakistani Taliban group claimed in a one-minute internet video that it was behind the failed attack.
Tehreek-e-Taliban said the bomb was revenge for the deaths of its leader and the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq.
But the police commissioner and the mayor cast doubt on the claim.

"There is no evidence that this is tied in with al-Qaeda or any other big terrorist organization," Mr Bloomberg said.


The mayor earlier told reporters New York had avoided what could have been "a very deadly event".


US Homeland Security Chief Janet Napolitano has said there was so far no evidence that it was more than a "one-off event", but added it was "a potential terrorist attack".


Duane Jackson, the 58-year-old handbag seller who spotted the vehicle, has been hailed as a hero.
The Vietnam War veteran alerted a passing police officer, after noticing the car parked illegally with its keys in the ignition.

"That's when the smoke started coming out and then we heard the little pop, pop, pop - like firecrackers going out," he said.

The New York Police Department has been on constant alert since the 9/11 attacks.
Earlier this year, two men, one an Afghan immigrant, pleaded guilty to a plot to set off suicide bombs in the city's subway system.

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

New York police defuse 'car bomb' in Times Square

New York City police have defused an improvised car bomb parked in Times Square, one of the city's busiest tourist areas, officials say.

They say propane tanks, fireworks, petrol, and a clock device were removed from a parked sports utility vehicle.

Part of the district - where many theatres are sited - was sealed off.
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. "Thanks to alert New Yorkers and professional police officers, 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".


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

"The NYPD bomb squad has rendered safe an improvised car bomb," said New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly.

The alert was triggered when a street vendor saw smoke coming from a Nissan Pathfinder 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.
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 told reporters early on Sunday.
"No motive has been identified," he added.

Security footage is being reviewed after reports that a person was seen running away from the vehicle.
The car's plates do not match the registration, the spokesman said.


Jerry Brown, one of the tourists evacuated from the nearby Marriot Marquis hotel, told the BBC: "Guests are sitting on the street and there is considerable chaos... There is talk about moving us to another hotel but I am not sure how this is going to happen."

Most Broadway shows went ahead despite the alert.
FBI agents have joined NYPD investigators at the scene.
The White House said President Obama was being kept up to date on the investigation.

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.

Taiwan-China flight forced to land after bomb hoax

An airliner travelling from Taiwan to China made an emergency landing after a passenger jokingly claimed he had a bomb on board, officials say.

The Taipei-Shanghai flight of Taiwan's China Airlines landed safely in Hangzhou, eastern China, and the passenger was held for questioning.



Police then checked the man's luggage and found no explosives.
The man - identified only as Lin - later admitted he made the comment as a joke, the officials said.

China Airlines spokesman Bruce Chen said the passenger was traveling on a US passport, the Associated Press reports.

He did not appear to have been drinking excessively, the spokesman added.
The plane eventually took off from Hangzhou and later landed safely in Shanghai.
It was not immediately known how many passengers were on board.

Taliban: Bomb the Ban

 The Taliban, scarcely proponents of the First Amendment when they ruled Afghanistan, have suddenly decided that freedom of speech obligation be useful, further the Fourth Estate worth protecting.

In a warm and enthusiastic bill (parts of which sounded as if it could have been written by the American Civil Liberties union or the Committee to Protect Journalists) the Taliban spoke out in support of a release press, human rights and, yes, civil society.

Earlier this date the Afghan government had proposed a interdict on the filming further live broadcasting of adventurous attacks. The restrictions drew an fuss from the point out as thoroughly now from some politicians and diplomats.

“We the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan strongly castigate this proclamation of the Kabul authorities and this is entirely a violation of the international credo of media, standstill society and human rights,” said Zabibullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman significance a telephone interview.

“Banning the free media actually indicates that they are violating freedom of articulation. This is unacceptable also a irruption of worldwide media freedom,” he said.

“The Islamic Emirate values the efforts and game of organic unshackle and foreign journalists and photographers also requests them to work more freely and independently network Afghanistan, further offers its encouragement to them, common though they are separate many challenges on the ground.”

Not ofttimes does the press get such an expression of support.

Not that the Taliban’s motivations are exactly altruistic. As Mr. Mujahid explained, they want the people to see the truth, besides if media coverage of their attacks is banned unfeigned means that folks will not see all of “the events all the guidance of Afghanistan is facing from mujahid imperf orate for the country.”

That cause bombings, suicide attacks and shootouts.

The proposed ban, he said, shows that the Kabul government is following America’s passage and behaving like an invader by taking away freedom–in this plight from the press.

From the media’s point of view, it’s not exactly a plus to have the Taliban on your aspect. It has, consequent all, kidnapped journalists juice the past, including David Rohde, Stephen Farrell and Sultan Munadi of The New York Times. Mr. Munadi was killed pressure a rescue attempt.

The solicitude of the Afghan ascendancy is that the media’s live broadcasts of attacks, savor push on Friday’s which killed 16 people, are meed the Taliban to fine-tune their inroad strategy. drag fact that seems iffy since real is impossible for journalists on the ground to do the kind of bird’s-eye belief of bright side forces’ movements that would help militants, but the Afghan government cede likely trace the Taliban’s eloquent defense of the media as confirmation that the point out is in league with them.

You guilt elucidate the shift as honestly as possible, but you burden never control who bequeath use original — or as what.

Afghanistan bomb 'kills 11 civilians'

A roadside bomb has killed 11 civilians in southern Afghanistan's Helmand province, officials say.

The bomb, blamed on Taliban insurgents, hit a coach in Nawzad district, said a spokesman for the provincial governor.

The blast was well to the north of where Nato and Afghan troops are waging a major offensive against the Taliban.

Taliban insurgents have increasingly resorted to using roadside bombs as Nato countries have increased their troop numbers in Afghanistan recently.

"A newly-planted mine of the Taliban hit a coach bus, killing 11 civilians including two women and two children," said the spokesman, Dawud Ahmedi.

The Taliban has come under pressure from the increased foreign forces acting with Afghan troops but have struck back with bombings and suicide attacks.

A bomb left on a bicycle in Helmand's capital on Tuesday killed seven civilians.

And on Friday, the Taliban said they were behind an attack on the national capital Kabul which lasted several hours.

At least 16 people were killed, including 11 foreigners, two policemen and three gunmen.

2-Bomb Blasts in 2-hours at Karachi ,Pakistan

There are two bomb blasts in last 2-hours at Karachi,Pakistan. One blast was in a bus in a public gathering on road and 2nd is on gate of emergency of Jinnah Hospital. Details are coming....

Killed 22 in 2-motorcyle bomb attacks, as per details so far.

The attack, involving a motorcycle bomb, targeted a bus carrying Shia Muslims to a religious procession. About 50 were injured.

It took place on the main road of the country's commercial centre.

Friday is the last and most important day of the Arbaeen religious festival, 40 days of mourning for the death of the Prophet Muhammad's grandson.

It was not clear whether the bomb was rammed into the bus by a suicide bomber or the motorcycle was parked by the side of the road.

Karachi police chief Waseem Ahmad said it was too soon to say what exactly had happened.

"We are examining the site. We are collecting the evidence. We are taking witness statements and then we will say something concrete," he said.

Security cordon

The bus was one of dozens used to transport Shia mourners from all over the city to a central procession.

The attack happened on a commercial street near the main Sharah-e-Faisal road connecting Karachi airport with the city.

The main mourning procession is being held on MA Jinnah Road, which is guarded on all sides by heavy security to prevent a repeat of an attack on a Shia march in December which killed 43 people.

But the attacker on Friday chose a different target, away from the security cordon.

Mr Ahmad said the procession was continuing despite the attack.

There were reports of a second explosion outside Jinnah hospital where injured people from the first blast had been taken.

Sectarian tension between the Shia minority and the Sunni majority rose after the December attack, and riots erupted.

Tension remains high, and paramilitary troops were deployed in the city days ago amid deadly clashes between rival political groups.

Also on Friday, at least 27 Shia Muslims were killed in the Iraqi city of Karbala as they took part in a major Arbaeen event.

Approximately a million Shia Muslim pilgrims are in Karbala to visit the Imam Hussein shrine at the end of commemorations.

3 Coordinated Bomb Attacks Hit Hotels in Baghdad

Suicide car bombers suffering at three major hotels in downtown Baghdad on Monday, mirroring lethal coordinated attacks on ascendancy buildings in August, October and December that stimulated fears of escalating violence through Iraq clan toward central elections junket 7.

The hotels, including one favored by Western journalists, were hieroglyphics of a returning normality pull Baghdad, setting violence remains empty from two years ago.

The delegation of hash spoken that 36 people had been killed further 71 injured, but maiden estimates of casualties often flaunt wide of the mark.

The three bombs exploded roughly 10 scandal sheet apart starting about 3:30 p.m. . The three hotels hit were the Ishtar Sheraton, followed by the Babylon further the Hamra. The blasts perturbed the situation and shattered windows owing to miles around. Iraqis in surrounding areas took to the streets, wailing at the clouds of smoke.

The bombers had to phase through security checkpoints at all three hotels. At the Hamra, a day laborer who gave his name as Abu Haider vocal he dictum a car exchange gunshots at the checkpoint, then watched a second car promote through.

“It was just seconds before the explosion,” he said.

The repetitious friendless a crater roughly 12 feet abyssal and 6 feet below about 50 feet from the Hamra. It beggared the house in front of the hotel to rubble, from which rescue workers pulled bodies. A woman who gave her propose as Um Riyadh emerged from the ruined hulk of a house across the street, maroon on her head and face.

“We adrift the house,” she said, crying. “We lost corporeality. Why should I continue in Iraq? I’m going to cede. There’s no contradistinct solution.”

Two weeks before Monday’s attacks, Iraqi expectancy forces, aided by intelligence from Americans, said they had foiled another large assault on the city, capturing hundreds of pounds of explosives besides putting the longitude temporarily on lockdown.

Iraqi officials blamed the earlier attacks on Al Qaeda effect Mesopotamia, the homegrown terrorist group that Iraqi again American officials believe has outward leadership, play jointly hold back former members of Saddam Hussein’s Baath roister. But no evidence has been produced of resembling a aid.