Terror in Times Square: Pakistani Taliban claim responsibility as police defuse crude but lethal car bomb in heart of New York I'm not a hero Street vendor Duane Jackson the man who spotted the bomb at his stand in Times Square a day after the incident At around 6.30pm the T-shirt seller a Vietnam war veteran who had been working on Wall St on 9/11, alerted mounted policeman Wayne Rhatigan to smoke coming out of the vehicle.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1270402/Times-Square-bomb-New-York-police-defuse-car-bomb.html#ixzz0mp4n8kET
 

By Daniel Bates
Last updated at 7:06 PM on 2nd May 2010

• Police investigate South Park link
  

The Pakistani Taliban have claimed they were behind a terrorist plot to detonate a car bomb in Times Square and kill thousands today.

The plot failed when the device miraculously failed to ignite.

But a second device found in Pittsburgh today is keeping America jittery amid fears about terror striking in the heart of America.

Police said they found the explosive device near the course of the Pittsburgh Marathon, forcing them to detour the final part of the race.

Scroll down for video footage

A bomb squad officer examines the Nissan Pathfinder car. Smoke emerging from the vehicle first alerted officers to the 'car bomb'

Police evacuated a number of streets surrounding Times Square after the car bomb was noticed at about midnight GMT, 6.30pm local time

The device was found in a small microwave oven on the sidewalk after the leaders had finished the course this morning. The bomb squad used a robot to disable the device. The all-clear was given for the area shortly before 11 a.m.local time.

In New York last night, packed Broadway shows, hotels and the streets surrounding Times Square were evacuated when the car bomb exploded 'like a small hand grenade' and began to hiss and smell of gunpowder.

But it did not ignite properly and when a T-shirt seller alerted police to the smoking vehicle and the area was cleared mass slaughter was avoided.

Police were investigating whether the bomb was to target the creators of South Park. It was left near the offices of Viacom, which owns the comedy series.

Last month an episode of South Park which featured the Prophet Muhammad in a bear suit sparked a warning by a U.S.-based group called 'Revoultion Musliim' that its creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker would 'probably wind up like Theo Van Gogh'.

A bomb disposal vehicle arrives at the scene after an explosive device was found in an SUV parked in Times Square

The Dutch director was murdered in 2004 by a Muslim extremist who was furious about his film about Muslim women.

In response to the threat US TV network Comedy Central, which screens South Park, beeped out any mention of the word 'Muhammed' from the episode and pulled the repeat.

This evening the Pakistani Taliban announced on an Islamist website that the attack was to avenge the killing of two Islamists and 'Muslim martyrs'.

Enlarge  

'I'm not a hero': Street vendor Duane Jackson, the man who spotted the bomb, at his stand in Times Square a day after the incident

'The Pakistani Taliban announced its responsibility for the New York attack in revenge for the two leaders al-Baghdadi and al-Mahajer and Muslim martyrs,' said a statement on a website commonly used by Islamists.

Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, the purported leader of al Qaeda's local Iraqi affiliate, the Islamic State of Iraq, was killed in mid-April in an operation backed by U.S. forces.

The leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Ayyub al-Masri, was killed in the same operation.

U.S. investigators were not drawing conclusions amid fears the claim could be opportunistic.

Experts also immediately drew parallels between the attack and the failed attempt to bomb the Tiger Tiger nightclub in London in 2007.

In both cases, homemade bombs of propane gas and petrol designed to be set off by timers were left in packed public places.

'We are very lucky,' the city's Mayor Michael Bloomberg said. 'We avoided what could have been a very deadly event.'

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano added: 'We're taking this very seriously. We're treating it as if it could be a potential terrorist attack.'

On Saturday night on one of the first warm weekends of the year, Times Square was packed with tourists, families and theatre-goers rushing to see shows.

The Nissan Pathfinder was parked on West 45th Street near Seventh Avenue in front of an entrance to the Minskoff Theatre, which houses the hugely popular Disney musical, with the engine running and hazard warning lights on. The Viacom building is directly behind the theatre.

At around 6.30pm the T-shirt seller, a Vietnam war veteran who had been working on Wall St on 9/11, alerted mounted policeman Wayne Rhatigan to smoke coming out of the vehicle.

Bomb squad members worked through the night to diffuse the explosive device found in the car

'I did a lap around the vehicle. The inside was smoking,' Mr Rhatigan said. 'I smelled gunpowder and knew it might blow. I thought it might blow any second.' 

Tourist Richard Von de Breggan added: 'Suddenly I saw a big flashlight in the car. It was not big, like a small hand grenade in the car. The windows stayed in there and was smoke.'

Tourists were cleared out of the nearby Marriott Hotel, restaurants, and several Broadway shows whilst others including 'Billy Elliot' and  'The Lion King' went into darkness.

Police bomb squad teams and fire crews raced to the scene and examined the back of the truck. Inside they found three propane tanks, two red 5-gallon plastic jugs of gasoline, a clock, electrical components and a canister of gunpowder.

A policeman stands guard on one of the deserted streets after the alarm was raised

Electrical wires, batteries and other components were also discovered along with a 2ft by 4ft gun box.

A bomb squad robot was brought in to make it safe and the the gun box was taken away to be dismantled.

Times Square re-opened early yesterday morning but now the attention is turning to finding the culprits, with President Obama being informed on latest updates.

Forensic officers have been combing the truck and have already recovered fingerprints from it.

State and federal police have begun a massive manhunt and officers are studying CCTV footage which reportedly shows someone running from the truck.

Harold Copus, former FBI special agent, told CNN that the use of household materials was a technique used by Al-Qaeda around the world, but notably in London.

'They are not going to give up on this and go home, they will try again,' he said.

'The death toll could have been enormous', a police source added. 'It was a nice day and Times Square was completely packed'.

Normally teeming with people on a Saturday night, the area around Times Square is empty save for police officers and members of the bomb squad

Barriers were set up and theatre-goers turned away as emergency services dealt with the car bomb

The bomb appeared to be starting to detonate but malfunctioned, police spokesman Paul Browne said.

'We avoided what we could have been a very deadly event,' Mr Bloomberg said. 'It certainly could have exploded and had a pretty big fire and a decent amount of explosive impact.'

In 2007 a Mercedes packed with nails and canisters of propane and gasoline was parked outside the Tiger Tiger nightclub in Leicester Square in central London, close to many West End shows.

It was primed to explode when an ambulance paramedic noticed it smoking and raised the alarm.

Bilal Abdulla, an NHS doctor from Iraq, was jailed for life the following year. His accomplice Kafeel Ahmed died from injuries sustained after driving a Jeep packed with a similar home made bomb into Glasgow airport.

Print this article

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1270402/Times-Square-bomb-New-York-police-defuse-car-bomb.html#ixzz0mp1kCy8C
 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1270402/Times-Square-bomb-New-York-police-defuse-car-bomb.html

http://www.disclosureproject.com  TRUTH  -  EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL