.
(AP) – The suspect, Faisal Shahzad, was identified by customs agents at John F. Kennedy International Airport and was stopped, according to officials who spoke to The Associated Press early Tuesday on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the investigation. He had recently returned from a five-month trip to Pakistan, where he had a wife, but was not apparently headed back there, the officials said.
NEW YORK (NBC) – A US citizen, Faisal Shahzad, 30, was apprehended by Customs and Border Patrol agents at the Queens international airport at 11:45 p.m. at Terminal 4, while trying to board a plane to Dubai, presumably to escape the manhunt that has been on since Saturday night, law enforcement sources said.
View more news videos at: http://www.nbcnewyork.com/video.
Full story below the fold …
(The Hartford Courant) – The suspect, identified as Faisal Shahzad, was picked up at John F. Kennedy International Airport just before midnight and is being held in New York. He is a Pakistani who recently returned from a trip to that country.
The Nissan Pathfinder left to explode in Times Square Saturday night belonged to a Bridgeport teenager until less than a week ago when she sold it to a man who contacted her through craigslist.
Sources familiar with the investigation said that the gray SUV was owned by Peggy Colas, a 19-year-old from Bridgeport. Investigators first spoke to her on Sunday when she told them she sold the car for $1,300 in cash to a man she described as being of either Hispanic or Middle Eastern descent.
A source said Colas told authorities that she met the man at a mall on April 28, only three days before the attempted bombing, and he gave her the cash and took the car.
Authorities tracked the man by an e-mail that he had sent her about purchasing the car. Authorities have said that the man who bought the car was from Connecticut. Colas could not be reached for comment Monday night.
But on her Facebook page she posted a message after being interviewed by investigators saying “OMG! I HAD A CRAZY DAY … IT’S OFFICIAL. I HAVE BAD LUCK. SMH I HOPE THEY FIND THAT BASTARD.” Besides craigslist, Colas posted an ad on nothingbutcars.net. In that ad, she described the Pathfinder as gray with 141,000 miles on it.
She further described it this way: “Recently fixed the alternator ($310.00)… It also has 2 new front tires.. the oil and spark plug has been changed recently, and it also has a new gas pump, and distributer. It does have some rust as you can see in the picture, but other than that it runs great!! $1,300 OBO.”
Link to Bridgeport Auto Sales and Recycling Dealer
It is not clear how a license plate belonging to another Bridgeport man’s Ford F-150 pickup truck ended up on the Pathfinder.
Sources said the license plate found on the Pathfinder belonged to a car owned by Elmo Jones, also of Bridgeport. Jones told authorities that he had taken his truck to Kramer’s Auto Body Shop in Stratford for repairs.
Authorities found Colas by tracing the history of the Pathfinder, which was sold in 2004 by Bridgeport car dealer Tony Manis. It is not clear when Colas purchased the Pathfinder.
.
From NRC article:
“… then it is certain that the bomb designer acted on an impulse. He went off on the wrong internet information.”
From the press conference we learned the suspect returned early February from an 8-month stay in Pakistan. Plenty of work for ISI and police investigation over there. After the numerous attacks and foiled attacks in the UK, the United Staes are more prone from these domestic terror attacks. See also my link to the failed London car bombing attempt.
Can’t change the allegiance numbers in polls from the Pakistani people:
Dr Hussein Ahmed Paracha: “How Much Dignity is Left?”
Foreign presence will always lead to nationalist movements and resistance groups followed by terror attacks: Indonesia, Algeria, Vietnam, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
≈ Cross-posted from my diary@ET ≈
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence.".
DUBAI – U.S. authorities removed three passengers from the Emirates flight to Dubai on which the man wanted over the failed Times Square bomb plot was arrested.
Dubai-based Emirates said its flight from JFK Airport in New York on Monday evening was called back to the gate as it was about to take off and authorities removed the passengers from the flight.
“Emirates can confirm that its flight EK 202 operated by a Boeing 777-300 ER, was called back by the local authorities prior to departure. Three passengers were removed from the flight,” the airline said in a statement.
U.S. law enforcement officials only identified one suspect, Faisal Shahzad, a U.S. citizen born in Pakistan, saying he was taken into custody around 11:45 p.m. Monday “for allegedly driving a car bomb into Times Square”.
Pakistani man arrested at JFK airport trying to flee to Dubai
● Bomb Suspect Nabbed While Trying To Leave U.S.
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence.".
Faisal Shahzad, Times Square bomb plotter, ‘minutes’ from escape
(NY Daily News) – The Connecticut man busted in the Times Square bomb plot was minutes from fleeing the country on a Dubai-bound flight at JFK Airport.
The frantic scramble to arrest terror suspect Faisal Shahzad began when his name was finally matched with a passenger manifest on Monday night, sources told the Daily News.
By the time investigators made the link, the suspect had already cleared ticketing and airport security – and taken his seat on the international flight. He was grabbed aboard Emirates Flight 202 around 11:45 p.m.
“He was ahead of the data,” a police source said. “It wasn’t until he was on board the aircraft that the information about him caught up with the manifest.”
Sources said he then told U.S. Customs agents his car was parked in a short-term lot at JFK Airport. When his 1994 white Isuzu Trooper was located, officials found a loaded 9mm handgun with five full clips, sources said.
“Clearly the guy was on the plane and shouldn’t have been, and we got very lucky,” Mayor Bloomberg told a midtown news conference Tuesday morning.
[Emirates airlines told reporters a red flag was raised when Mr. Shahzad came to the ticket counter to book flight EA 202 to Dubai “last-minute” and wanted to pay by cash. The authorities were warned …
At an Eric Holder news conference, Secretary Napolitano told reporters the system worked, his name showed up on the no-fly list and Mr. Shahzad was pulled off the flight. – Oui]
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence.".
NEW YORK (AP/ABC News) – Shahzad had been under constant watch at his Bridgeport, Conn., home since 3 p.m. Monday and federal authorities had planned to arrest him there that evening.
Shahzad somehow lost the investigators who were trailing him, the two people said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the incident.
The FBI and the NYPD declined to comment.
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano wouldn’t talk about it, other than to say Customs officials prevented the plane from taking off.
≈ Cross-posted from my new diary — Incarceration and Trial of Dr. Aafia Siddiqui in the US ≈
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence.".
From Steven D’s fp story Alleged Pakistani-American Bomber Arrested:
“The real question is whether our use of drones based on intelligence from Pakistan’s Military and Security Services is worth the risk of continued attacks, whether by lone wolfs or as part of terrorist cells with connections to the Taliban in Pakistan.”
LANGLEY, VA — The plan was a standard one in the CIA’s war against extremists in Pakistan: The agency was using a Predator drone to monitor a residential compound; a Taliban leader was expected to arrive shortly; a CIA missile would kill him. On the morning of Aug. 5, CIA Director Leon Panetta was informed that Baitullah Mehsud was about to reach his father-in-law’s home. Mehsud would be in the open, minimising the risk that civilians would be injured or killed. Panetta authorised the strike, according to a senior intelligence official who described the sequence of events.
● The New Yorker: The Predator War
● Obama Administration’s Use of Drones Responsible for Increase in Civilian Deaths
● Kucinich: US drone attacks in Pakistan could `inspire radicalism’
I don’t believe for one minute that drone attacks influence radicalization of Muslims within the US. Look at the recent revenge attacks on the US:
The United Kingdom under Tony Blair was repeatedly confronted with domestic terror groups of Pakistani ancestry. The last major attack was the moment Blair left and Gordon Brown took over as PM. Reason participation Iraq war? Islamic extremists always find a motive to reach for revenge killings: see Saudi Arabia and al-Qaeda, Danish cartoons, Dutch filmmaker van Gogh, Chechnya, Dagestan, Kashmir, Mumbai India, Indonesia and Philippines. The terror groups will look for the weak spots and attempt a strike: attack on CIA agents at FOB Chapman on AfPak border. It’s my analysis both Taliban and al-Qaeda operatives are hurting because of the drone attacks. The recent bungled terror plots were well planned, however the people involved were poorly trained and lacked ability to execute. Clearly Pakistan terror leadership sought a quick recipe for revenge.
Terrorist and Extremist Groups of Pakistan
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence.".
Faisal Shahzad was born in Karachi, Pakistan’s financial capital, and later moved to the United States. He became naturalized as a U.S. citizen on April 17, 2009. Mr. Shahzad reportedly returned to Pakistan between July and August 2009, and traveled to Peshawar, a gateway town to areas where the Pakistan army and the Taliban are engaged in conflict.
Not much is known about Shahzad, although officials said some members of his family still reside in North Nazimabad, a middle class suburb of Karachi.
KARACHI (NY Times) — Mr. Shahzad also told the authorities that he had acted alone, but hours after he was arrested, security officials in Karachi, Pakistan, said they arrested a Pakistani man who had spent time with Mr. Shahzad during a recent visit there. Investigators said they arrested the man, Muhammad Rehan, in a mosque in the North Nazimabad area just after morning prayers. The mosque [Masjid-e-Batah] is known for its links with the militant group Jaish-e-Muhammad.
Investigators said Mr. Rehan told them that he had rented a pickup truck and driven with Mr. Shahzad to the northwestern city of Peshawar, where they stayed from July 7 to July 22, 2009.
Pakistan makes arrest(s) in Karachi
ISLAMABAD — In Pakistan, intelligence officials said at least one man has been detained in the southern city of Karachi in connection with the Times Square case: a man named Tauseef who was a friend of Shahzad. He did not say when the man was picked up.
Another Pakistani official said several people had been taken into custody since the failed attack. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of their work.
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence.".
(TPM) – Shahzad was able to buy a ticket to Dubai through Emirates Airlines, check in at JFK Airport, pass through security, and get on a plane. Shahzad was taken into custody last night by U.S. Customs and Border Enforcement officials, after being pulled off Emirates Airlines Flight EK 202, which had just left the gate, government officials have said.
Had Shahzad made it out of the country — even only to be arrested and returned here after the plane landed in Dubai — it likely would have caused severe embarrassment and second-guessing in law enforcement and government circles.
RED FLAGS
CBS News adds that it was only thanks to a tip from Emirates Airlines that Shahzad, 30, was nabbed. Emirates notified the Department of Homeland Security that it had received a last-minute request for an all-cash purpose of a one-way ticket to Dubai — all of which are red flags.
Late Update: DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano confirmed today that Shahzad was put on the no-fly list yesterday, ABC News reports. She added that the government only became aware of his presence on the flight — presumably after being tipped off by the airline — after the manifest was completed.
ABC offers a potential reason why Shahzad was able to get on the plane: the government only checks people’s documents as they enter the U.S., not as they exit.
[An intelligence official in Pakistan said Shahzad received militant training in northwest Pakistan near the garrison town of Kohat. The area around Kohat is a stronghold of Tariq Afridi, the Pakistani Taliban commander in the region.]
Father is PAF Sqn Ldr Bahr-ul-Haq of Aerobatics team The Sherdils
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."