New York governor calls failed car bomb act of terrorism
The United States
views a car bomb that failed to go off in New York’s Times Square as a
potential terrorist attack, Homeland Security Secretary Janet
Napolitano said on Sunday.
“We’re taking this
very seriously,” Mrs Napolitano told CNN’s “State of the Union”
programme. “We’re treating it as if it could be a potential terrorist
attack.” Authorities said the failed bomb — made of propane, gasoline
and fireworks — could have killed many people.
New York has been
on high alert for an attack since the September 11 attacks in 2001 in
which hijacked airliners toppled the World Trade Centre’s twin towers,
killing thousands of people.
New York’s Mayor Michael Bloomberg told an early morning news conference:
“We have no idea
who did this or why.” Mr Bloomberg said a T-shirt vendor noticed “an
unoccupied suspicious vehicle” and alerted a police officer on
horseback, who saw the dark-green Nissan Pathfinder had smoke coming
from vents near the back seat and smelled of gun powder.
The vehicle was
put on the back of a flat-bed truck, covered with a tarpaulin and
removed from Times Square by authorities at about 6 a.m. (1000 GMT).
The bomb was
discovered around 6:30 p.m. (2230 GMT) in the vehicle parked on 45th
Street and Broadway in a shopping and entertainment area of Midtown
Manhattan when it was packed with tourists and theatre-goers on a warm
Saturday evening.
The utility
vehicle had Connecticut licence plates that did not match and its
engine was running and hazard lights flashing when it was discovered.
The bomb squad
removed and dismantled three propane tanks, consumer grade fireworks,
two filled five-gallon (19-litre) gasoline containers, two clocks,
batteries in each of the clocks, electrical wire and other components.
A locked metal box resembling a gun locker was also removed and taken to a safe location to be detonated.
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