NYC bomb suspect had Taliban 'direction'
09 May 2010 | 
Author: Professor |
CBC News 09 May, 2010
U.S. investigators now believe the Pakistani Taliban was behind the attempted Times Square car bombing in New York, White House adviser John Brennan said Sunday. He told CNN's State of the Union show it appears that accused bomber Faisal Shahzad was working for the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP. The militant group is believed to be hiding senior al-Qaeda leaders, including Osama bin Laden.
A day after the May 4 incident, New York, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said there was no evidence to support a website claim of a Taliban role in the plot.
However, according to Attorney General Eric Holder, investigators have "now developed evidence" that shows the Pakistani Taliban "helped facilitate" the failed bombing.
"We know that they helped finance it, and that [the suspect] was working at their direction," Holder said on ABC's Sunday talk show This Week.
Investigators allege Shahzad, 30, began preparing his attack upon his return to the United States in February after ending a five-month visit to Pakistan.
Shahzad, who was born in Pakistan and became a U.S. citizen last year, has allegedly told investigators he trained in the lawless tribal areas of Waziristan, where both al-Qaeda and the Pakistani Taliban operate.
He was arrested aboard an Emirates Airlines jet in New York just minutes before it was scheduled to take off for Dubai, two days after the botched attempt to detonate a sport utility vehicle rigged with a homemade bomb in the heart of one of New York's busiest tourist districts.
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