Monday morning, the FBI issued a wanted poster for an Afghani immigrant who may be part of a larger “terror cell” working in New York City in connection with one of the weekend terrorist attacks.
Over the weekend, bombs exploded in Seaside Park, N.J., and Chelsea, Manhattan, N.Y, which investigators say may have been connected. After a raid Sunday night in which five Muslim men were arrested, the FBI says it is now looking for Ahmad Khan Rahami, 28, a U.S. citizen who was born in Afghanistan.
Rahami has not been officially named a suspect in the Chelsea bombing, but is being sought for questioning. The FBI says he is to be considered “armed and dangerous.” If spotted, contact the FBI’s Tipline at 1-800-CALL-FBI.
Overnight, five more bombs were found in a backpack near the train tracks in Elizabeth, N.J. A police robot was used to investigate the bag, and ultimately detonated it—officials said it went off unexpectedly while the robot was attempting to cut into the bomb.
Law enforcement in the area are now searching for suspects in that incident. The FBI has described the bombs as “improvised explosive devices.” No cellphones were found in the bag, which was a key piece of the previous bombings that may lead to a possible connection in the Seaside Park and Chelsea incidents.
While not identical, authorities say the bombs in Chelsea and Seaside Park had flip phones. The Seaside Park bomb consisted of several pipe bombs tied to one detonator that was timed to go off during a Marine Corps charity 5K road race. The two bombs in Chelsea were “pressure cooker” bombs similar to the one used during the Boston Marathon bombing.
“There are similarities among the bombs,” New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said. “They are not all identical, but there are certain similarities with how the bombs are put together, with certain elements, et cetera, suggesting there might have been a common linkage or common person behind all the bombs.”
