US seeks Pakistan's help in Times Square investigation (4th Lead)

May 4, 2010, 13:58 GMT

Islamabad/New York - The US sought help from Islamabad on Tuesday to investigate the alleged involvement of a Pakistani immigrant in an attempted car bombing in New York City, officials said.

US Ambassador Anne W Patterson made the request during a meeting with Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi.

Faisal Shahzad, a naturalized US citizen identified as a native of the southern port city of Karachi, was arrested late Monday by US authorities for allegedly parking a car containing a homemade bomb in Times Square on Saturday, officials said early Tuesday.

According to a statement, the 30-year-old was arrested at New York's John F Kennedy International Airport as he attempted to board a flight to Dubai after he was identified by customs and security officials.

Abdul Basit, a spokesman for Pakistan's Foreign Ministry, said Qureshi had assured the US ambassador that Pakistan would cooperate fully with the investigation.

'Our cooperation with the US against terrorism is a constant and ongoing process, and if the US needs our assistance on this particular issue we will do all we can,' Basit said.

DawnNews television reported that US authorities had provided information to officials in Islamabad about the suspect.

Shahzad travelled to Karachi on an Emirates airline flight on July 3, 2009 and flew back on August 3, it reported.

Shahzad was scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday in a Manhattan court. The charges he would face were not immediately known.

'This investigation is ongoing, it is multi-faceted and it is aggressive,' US Attorney General Eric Holder said in confirming the arrest.

'As we move forward, we will focus on not just holding those responsible for it accountable, but also on obtaining any intelligence about terrorist organizations overseas,' he added. 'We are deploying every resource available and we will not rest until we have bought everyone responsible to justice.'

Holder said government agents were pursuing multiple leads and urged US citizens to remain vigilant for attempted attacks.

'It is clear the intent behind this terror attack was to kill Americans,' he said.

The suspect is a resident of the nearby state of Connecticut and is believed to have anonymously bought the 1993 Nissan Pathfinder with cash a few weeks before, the New York Times reported online, citing two sources briefed on the police investigation.

According to a report by the NPR radio station, Shahzad allegedly removed the vehicle's identification number from the windscreen, but not the engine. That led investigators to the car's previous owner, who described the buyer as a man of Arabic or Latin American descent.

Using a photograph that had been taken of Shahzad as part of his recent naturalization, investigators were able to positively identify him, NPR reported.

His apartment in the town of Bridgeport was being searched by police on Tuesday. It was not immediately clear if they had found further evidence of the failed car bombing.

A New York police officer on Saturday noticed smoke billowing from a parked vehicle in Times Square and discovered the bomb, which had failed to detonate. Authorities said the casualties could have been significant if the improvised device had exploded.

Police said the vehicle was loaded with petrol, propane gas tanks, fireworks and fertilizer.

Authorities were seeking to learn whether the suspect might have had contacts with militants in Pakistan or elsewhere. The investigation was transferred Monday to the international terrorism branch of the federal government's Joint Terrorism Task Force, two officials told the Times.

'It's a prominent lead that they're following, the international association,' the paper quoted a senior official as saying on condition of anonymity. 'But there's still a lot of information being gathered.'

Shahzad is among a dozen foreigners holding US passports and green cards who have been arrested over the last two years on suspected terrorism charges.