New York/Islamabad, Pakistan today arrested several relatives of the Pakistani-American held in New York on suspicion of driving a bomb-laden car into Times Square, security sources said. Faisal Shahzad, a naturalised US citizen born in Pakistan, told US authorities he acted alone in Saturday’s failed bombing but investigators are looking into his recent trip to Pakistan, a US law enforcement source said.
Shahzad, 30, was arrested late last night after he was taken off an Emirates airline plane that was about to take off for Dubai. Hours later, several relatives and a friend were arrested in Pakistan.
Pakistan vowed to help the US investigation. “We have picked up a few family members” related to Shahzad, a security official in Karachi said. A friend of Shahzad was also detained.
Shahzad was due to appear in federal court later today to face charges of “driving a explosive-laden car into Times Square on the evening of May 1,” officials said. Had the bomb detonated, many people could have died, experts said.
“He’s admitted to buying the truck, putting the devices together, putting them in the truck, leaving the truck there and leaving the scene,” the source told Reuters. “He’s claimed to have acted alone. He did admit to all the charges, so to speak,” the source said, adding that investigators were still looking into his activities during a recent trip to Pakistan.
Shahzad and two others were arrested on board the plane after it had pulled away from the gate and was recalled, but the other two were cleared and allowed to travel, the Emirates airline said
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