NEW YORK – Police found an "amateurish" but potentially powerful bomb that apparently began to detonate but did not explode in a smoking sport utility vehicle in Times Square, authorities said Sunday.
Thousands of tourists were cleared from the streets for 10 hours after two vendors alerted police to the suspicious vehicle, which contained three propane tanks, fireworks, two filled 5-gallon gasoline containers, and two clocks with batteries, electrical wire and other components, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said...
'Car Bomb' Found In Times Square
An apparent car bomb has been discovered in New York's Times Square after failing to explode on Saturday night during Broadway's peak period.
The square was evacuated after a flash was seen inside a 4X4 which then began emitting quantities of smoke just after 6:30pm local time.
The FBI and local law enforcement teams are now trying to gather evidence from the vehicle.
"This appears to be a car bomb that the bomb squad is in the process of dismantling," New York Police Department spokesman Paul Browne said. "We do not know the motive."
Mr Browne said an mounted policeman spotted a box smoking in the back of the Nissan Pathfinder sport utility vehicle shortly before 7 p.m. (2300 GMT) and that Times Square, the popular tourist destination in Manhattan's Midtown, was evacuated soon after...
Police Find Clues In Potential Car Bomb Vehicle
(CNN) -- A T-shirt vendor who noticed smoke coming out of a dark green sport utility vehicle alerted police to what turned out to be a potential bomb placed in the city's iconic Times Square -- teeming with tourists and theater-goers on a balmy spring evening.
"We avoided what could have been a very deadly event," said Mayor Michael Bloomberg early Sunday morning. "It certainly could have exploded and had a pretty big fire and a decent amount of explosive impact."
The atmosphere at Times Square returned to normal Sunday, but questions remained about the contents of the vehicle.
Two federal officials said Sunday it was too early to tell whether the incident involved al Qaeda or another international terror group. The national threat level remained at yellow, or elevated.
"We're taking this very seriously," Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said in an interview on CNN's "State of the Union," noting that the New York police, FBI and federal Joint Terrorism Task Force were involved in the investigation. "We're treating it as if it could be a potential terrorist attack."...
New York City Police Investigate Failed New York City Bombing
Reuters
Armed NYPD officers talk to each other as police and fire personnel close off the area in New York's Times Square May 1, 2010. An apparent failed car bomb in a vehicle that was smoking and emitted a small "flash" caused police to evacuate New York's Times Square as bomb specialists worked to dismantle the device on Saturday night, Broadway's busiest night. REUTERS/Cary Horowitz (UNITED STATES - Tags: CRIME LAW CIVIL UNREST)
Local and federal authorities worked Sunday to identify the person or group behind an "amateurish" but potentially powerful bomb planted inside a car parked in New York City's Times Square.
Police found the bomb that apparently began to detonate but did not explode in a smoking sport utility vehicle on Saturday, prompting thousands of tourists to be cleared from the streets for 10 hours while the explosive was dismantled.
A monitoring group said Sunday that the Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the bomb but the report could not be immediately confirmed by Fox News.
The New York City Police Department told FoxNews.com on Sunday that neither a suspect nor motive has been identified. NYPD Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne said in an e-mail that the vehicle was taken to a forensics lab in Queens, N.Y., where it is being examined for fingerprints, hairs and fibers. All bomb components were taken to a separate facility in Bronx, N.Y., Browne said.
Investigators removed three propane tanks, fireworks, two filled 5-gallon gasoline containers, and two clocks with batteries, electrical wire and other components from the back of the Nissan Pathfinder, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said. A black metal box resembling a gun locker was also recovered and will be detonated off site, he said...
Cops: Possible Suspects In Times Square Car Bomb Include Group Behind 'South Park' Threat
Police hunting the man who parked a crude but powerful car bomb in Times Square are looking into a possible link to a "South Park" cartoon lampooning threats against depicting Mohammed.
No link has been established, but threats against the Comedy Central animators appeared on a New York Islamist Web site last week and police are aggressively looking for connections, sources told The Daily News.
The Nissan Pathfider, its engine running and hazards flashing, was parked Saturday night on W 45th St. right next to the Viacom Building at 1515 Broadway. Viacom owns Comedy Central.
The SUV was packed with propane, gasoline and fireworks and a rudimentary fuse had already been ignited.
Sharp-eyed vendors are being credited with alerting cops when they spotted the saving they alerted day when he saw smoke curling from the car at about 6:30 p.m....
