Attempted attack in Times Square

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Coordinates: 40 ° 45 ′ 21 ″  N , 73 ° 59 ′ 11 ″  W.

Locked Times Square

The attempted attack in Times Square was a failed terrorist attack that made international headlines. The pakistanischstämmige American Faisal Shahzad tried on 1. May 2010 at Times Square in New York , a car bomb to detonate. However, this failed and the bomb was discovered and defused.

Discovery of the bomb

On the evening of May 1st, a Saturday, a street vendor reported a Nissan Pathfinder parked in Times Square with a smoking engine to a mounted police officer. When he examined the car, he smelled gunpowder and informed his colleagues. The police then cleared the space between 43rd and 46th Streets, which was subsequently closed for ten hours. The bomb was finally defused by a special command.

The bomb used consisted of a petrol can, propane bottles, fireworks, fertilizer, two alarm clocks, batteries and a saucepan. Because of a faulty igniter, there was no explosion, only heavy smoke development. Shazad also planned to flee in another car that he had parked in Times Square the day before. However, since he had forgotten the keys to the escape car in the car with the bomb on the day of the planned attack, he fled by train.

A total of three bombs were hidden in the off-road vehicle. May 1st was chosen by him because there were many people on the warm day.

Search, arrest and trial

Faisal Shazad (2010)

The police were able to determine the owner Faisal Shahzad via the chassis number of the Nissan. Shazad was followed but was able to evade surveillance. At 12:30 p.m. on May 3, he was added to the list of terror suspects of the National Counter-Terrorism Center. Nevertheless, he was able to book a flight to Dubai with Emirates at 6:30 p.m. and to go through security at around 11 p.m. and board the plane. But since his name had been noticed by a border official who had checked the passenger lists, Shazad could be arrested in the plane before the start.

Shazad said he acted without an accomplice. The authorities describe him as cooperative and confessing. A good two weeks after the attack attempt, three suspects were arrested in the US states of Massachusetts , New York , New Jersey and Maine , who are said to be couriers who had provided Shazad with money. Another suspected money courier was arrested in Pakistan.

Prosecutors brought charges against prime suspect Faisal Shahzad on June 18. The indictment includes ten items, including terrorism, conspiracy and attempted use of weapons of mass destruction. For six of the ten counts, the maximum sentence is life. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life in prison on October 5, 2010.

Participation of the Taliban

On May 2, the Pakistani Taliban movement confessed to the attack and announced a series of attacks through its leader Hakimullah Mehsud . US Secretary of the Interior Eric Holder also announced on May 9 that the authorities had accused Pakistani Taliban groups , supported, financed and guided the attempted attack. In the course of this, several people who had contact with Shazad were taken into custody in Karachi, Pakistan ; Furthermore, his father-in-law and his wife, who lives in Karachi again, were questioned by the Pakistani authorities.

According to the June 18 indictment, Shazad is charged, among other things, with having received $ 12,000 from militant extremists in Pakistan for the planned attack. He is also said to have received training in dealing with explosives in Waziristan in December 2009 .

Shazad was a follower of the preacher Anwar al-Awlaki , who is said to have inspired him to do the deed. He also stated that the defense of his religion served as the motive for the planned attack.

More arrests

In early September, Pakistani police arrested three suspects in Islamabad and interrogated them for several days. They are said to have had contact with Faisal Shazad and forwarded money to him.

On September 15, a businessman was arrested and charged in New York. He is said to have unknowingly co-financed the attack through the so-called hawala system.

Reactions

US President Barack Obama stated on May 4th that the attempted attack would be fully resolved and that all possible accomplices would be brought to justice; his spokesman Robert Gibbs described the act as a terrorist act. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg called on residents not to put Pakistani and Muslim citizens under general suspicion, while Senator Susan Collins criticized the prime suspect for having succeeded in getting the plane to Dubai to climb.

The Washington Post reported that there was military planning for a retaliatory strike in Pakistan. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced "very serious consequences" should the country become involved in the attack.

Web links

Commons : Attempted attack in Times Square  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Terror alert: New York police defused explosive device in Times Square. In: Spiegel Online . May 2, 2010, accessed December 19, 2014 .
  2. ↑ haz.de: New York narrowly escapes bomb attack in Times Square (accessed on 12 May 2010).
  3. ↑ AFP, dpa and Reuters: USA: Terror alarm in Times Square. In: zeit.de. May 2, 2010, accessed December 19, 2014 .
  4. ↑ a b Marc Pitzke: Terror plot from Times Square: 53 hours, 20 minutes to access. In: Spiegel Online . May 5, 2010, accessed December 19, 2014 .
  5. ↑ a b The stupid mistake of the Times Square assassin fr-online.de
  6. ↑ Times Square Bomber: "Dress rehearsal" before attack ( memento from July 12, 2012 in the web archive archive.today ) (accessed on May 12, 2010).
  7. ↑ a b businessman unknowingly financed offenders. In: nzz.ch. September 16, 2010, accessed December 19, 2014 .
  8. ^ A b Dietmar Ostermann: Deficiencies in the US authorities: And every day greets the manhunt breakdown. In: fr-online.de . May 6, 2010, accessed December 19, 2014 .
  9. ^ Attempt at Times Square: Pakistan arrests acquaintances of the terror suspect in New York. In: Spiegel Online . May 4, 2010, accessed December 19, 2014 .
  10. ↑ Times Square Bomber: FBI grabs. In: fr-online.de . May 15, 2010, accessed December 19, 2014 .
  11. ↑ Attempted attack in Times Square: Prime suspect charged with terrorism. In: Spiegel Online . June 18, 2010, accessed December 19, 2014 .
  12. ↑ dpa: Suspected car bomber commissioned by Taliban? In: FAZ.net . June 18, 2010, accessed December 19, 2014 .
  13. ↑ ORF: Car bomber from Times Square pleads guilty
  14. ^ Lifelong for Times Square Bombers. In: ORF . October 5, 2010, accessed October 5, 2010 .
  15. ↑ a b c Attempted attack in Times Square: USA sees Taliban as mastermind. In: fr-online.de . May 10, 2010, accessed December 19, 2014 .
  16. ↑ By Yassin Musharbash: Times Square Terror Plot: US investigators are looking for the Pakistan connection. In: Spiegel Online . May 5, 2010, accessed December 19, 2014 .
  17. ^ Willi Germund and Dietmar Ostermann: Failed assassination attempt in New York: The son of the air marshal. In: fr-online.de . May 6, 2010, accessed December 19, 2014 .
  18. ↑ Arrests after thwarted Times Square attack. In: nzz.ch. September 8, 2010, accessed December 19, 2014 .
  19. ↑ Ansgar Graw: The Smiling Terrorist. In: welt.de . May 5, 2010, accessed December 19, 2014 .
  20. ↑ Foiled terrorist attack: USA is considering retaliation in Pakistan. In: fr-online.de . May 31, 2010, accessed December 19, 2014 .
  21. ^ After thwarted attack in New York: Is the USA looking for revenge? In: fr-online.de . May 29, 2010, accessed December 19, 2014 .