Times Square Bomb Plot

New Yorkers had a lucky escape last night as a car bomb in Times Square was successfully defused by police. As yet, nobody has claimed responsibility. According to the Wall Street Journal

Police said a Nissan Pathfinder at West 45th Street and Seventh Avenue was loaded with a bomb made of electrical components, three propane gas tanks and two additional gas canisters and fireworks. They received the call about the suspicious vehicle around 6:30 p.m. and blocked the area from West 43rd to 47th streets along Broadway and Seventh Avenue with metal railings. Parts of 48th Street were also closed.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Ray Kelly held a 13-minute news conference at about 2:20 a.m. Sunday. The mayor called the bomb "amateurish." He added that investigators believed the car's actual owner had nothing to do with the bomb. While uncertainty remained over the suspect, the mayor said that no other hazards were found and that "there's no more danger here than in any other city."

Thankfully, New York has managed to escape further terrorist acts since 9/11, but other plots have been intercepted. The BBC notes that earlier this year two men were convicted for planning suicide bombings on the New York Subway. One of these - Najibullah Zazi - was an Afghan immigrant, whereas the other - Zarein Ahmedzay - was a former New York taxi driver. Both had links to Rashid Rauf, whom the Telegraph described as a 'British [sic] al-Qaeda commander' who as well as having planned the transatlantic airliners plot, also commanded Zazi, Ahmedzay and (allegedly) a third man - Adis Medunjanin (a Bosnian) to attack targets in the USA.

Although owing to the Oklahoma Bombing we cannot be certain who was behind the Times Square Bomb Plot, the likelihood was that Islamists were to blame.