The blast in New York city may be related to a foreign terror organisation and could very well be linked to the discovery of explosive at two other locations, officials have revealed.
With security in New York heightened as it prepares to host world leaders at the UN General Assembly, police on Monday revealed the identify of a naturalised citizen from Afghanistan, Ahmad Khan Rahami, who they were looking in connection with Saturday night’s attack that left 29 people injured.
Officials had initially said that while the explosion in the Chelsea neighbourhood was an act of terrorism, they did not believe there were foreign links. However, on Monday New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said the latest information he had seen, suggested the need to rethink that assumption.
“Today’s information suggests it may be foreign related, but we’ll see where it goes,” he said on NY1 TV station. "My operating premise is anytime, anywhere, seven days a week you could have an incident like this."
He was speaking soon after investigators named Rahami as a suspect in the Manhattan blast.
Some 29 people were injured when a bomb exploded in a dumpster in the Chelsea neighbourhood of Manhattan on Saturday night.
The jittery city was put further on edge when a second device - made from a pressure cooker - was found streets away.
Five more pipebombs were found early on Monday morning in New Jersey. One exploded when a bomb squad robot tried to disarm it. No-one was injured.
Early on Monday morning, FBI agents swarmed an apartment above a fried chicken restaurant in Elizabeth, New Jersey, that was linked to Rahami.
They evacuated a nearby deli, a beauty salon and a computer-services store as residents tried to take in the news.
The White House said President Barack Obama was kept up to date with developments throughout the night.
