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The New York Police Department said the incident that caused Times Square to be evacuated was what appeared to be a car bomb, which was being dismantled by officers on the scene. -- PHOTO: AFP
NEW YORK - 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.
'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.'
Browne said an NYPD mounted policeman spotted a box smoking in the back of the Nissan Pathfinder sport utility vehicle and that the popular tourist destination in the heart of Manhattan's Midtown was evacuated shortly after that. A police source who asked not to be named said the device was a car bomb and it included three tanks of propane and two canisters of gasoline. He said police had not fully cleared the Pathfinder. He would not say whether the incident was being treated as an act of terrorism.
New York authorities have remained on high alert for another attack since the Sept 11, 2001 attacks in which hijacked airliners toppled the World Trade Center's twin towers.
Last year, police said they thwarted a plot to bomb the New York subway system and arrested a number of suspects in a case that has led to some guilty pleas. A New York Fire Department officer told Reuters the vehicle was found to contain explosives, gasoline, propane and burnt wires and was being treated as a 'failed device'. The officer, who did not give his name because he was not authorised to speak to the media, said a man was seen fleeing the car and that police had protectively evacuated several blocks in case there were other devices.
In Washington, FBI spokesman Richard Kolko said the Joint Terrorism Task Force has responded to the incident along with the NYPD. A US official, who asked not to be identified by name, said the Department of Homeland Security was aware of the situation and was monitoring developments, but declined to comment further. The official said the NYPD was in charge of the investigation. -- REUTERS
WASHINGTON - US President Barack Obama commended the 'quick action' by New York police in dealing with an apparent failed car bomb that prompted an evacuation of New York's Times Square on Saturday night, the White House said.
A statement issued by the White House said the New York Police Department had done 'excellent work' in responding to the incident.
'The president commended the quick action by the NYPD and asked John Brennan (the president's top counter-terrorismadviser) to communicate to NYPD that the federal government is prepared to provide support. John Brennan, working with the NYPD and others, will continue to keep the president up to date on the investigation,' the White House statement said.
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