Pakistani Taliban linked to NY bomb
Source: Agencies |
May 10, 2010, Monday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
CITING new evidence, senior White House officials said yesterday that the Pakistani Taliban was behind the failed Times Square car bombing.
The attempt marks the first time the group has been able to launch an attack on United States soil.
While US officials have downplayed the threat - pointing to the bomb's lack of sophistication - the incident in Times Square and the Christmas Day airline bomb bid indicate growing strength by overseas terrorist groups linked to al-Qaida even as the CIA says their operations are seriously degraded.
The finding also raises new questions about the US relationship with Pakistan.
Missile attack
Yesterday, suspected US missiles killed 10 people in a militant-controlled region of Pakistan close to the Afghan border, the first such strike since alleged Pakistan-trained Faisal Shahzad was accused of the Times Square attack.
US Attorney General Eric Holder said that new evidence showed that the Pakistani Taliban was "intimately involved" in the bombing plot.
John Brennan, US President Barack Obama's homeland security and counterterrorism adviser, made similar remarks, linking the suspected bomber to the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP.
The militant group is believed to be hiding senior al-Qaida leaders, including Osama bin Laden.
"We know they helped facilitate it," said Holder. "We know they probably helped finance it. And that he was working at their direction."
A US citizen of Pakistani descent, Shahzad is accused of spending five months in Pakistan before returning to the US in February and preparing his attack.
The attempt marks the first time the group has been able to launch an attack on United States soil.
While US officials have downplayed the threat - pointing to the bomb's lack of sophistication - the incident in Times Square and the Christmas Day airline bomb bid indicate growing strength by overseas terrorist groups linked to al-Qaida even as the CIA says their operations are seriously degraded.
The finding also raises new questions about the US relationship with Pakistan.
Missile attack
Yesterday, suspected US missiles killed 10 people in a militant-controlled region of Pakistan close to the Afghan border, the first such strike since alleged Pakistan-trained Faisal Shahzad was accused of the Times Square attack.
US Attorney General Eric Holder said that new evidence showed that the Pakistani Taliban was "intimately involved" in the bombing plot.
John Brennan, US President Barack Obama's homeland security and counterterrorism adviser, made similar remarks, linking the suspected bomber to the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP.
The militant group is believed to be hiding senior al-Qaida leaders, including Osama bin Laden.
"We know they helped facilitate it," said Holder. "We know they probably helped finance it. And that he was working at their direction."
A US citizen of Pakistani descent, Shahzad is accused of spending five months in Pakistan before returning to the US in February and preparing his attack.
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