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Police connect New York City and New Jersey shore town bombings

No one has been charged yet with the explosion, and the investigation is now ongoing. The driver had just picked up three passengers and was driving when the explosion occurred, shattering the car’s windows and leaving gaping holes in the rear passenger-side door.

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The driver called 911 and pulled over near the intersection of 39th Street and Madison Avenue, which is where FBI investigators were gathering evidence Sunday.

Five suspects were reportedly collared by police who are now undergoing interrogation. Elizabeth Mayor Christian Bollwage said the devices were found in a bag in a trash can by two men who reported seeing wires and a pipe coming out of the package.

New Jersey State Police say that information comes from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. All have been released from a hospital. It was described by a law enforcement official as a pressure-cooker with protruding wires and a cellphone attached to it.

The explosions came days before world leaders prepared to gather at the United Nations in NY for the annual General Assembly.

Obama is urging Americans to report suspicious activity to law enforcement.

A powerful explosion rocked Manhattan’s popular Chelsea neighborhood late on Saturday after a pressure-cooker bomb packed with shrapnel detonated.

Two law enforcement sources tell CBS News the device that exploded appears to also have been a pressure cooker bomb.

Police did not immediately identify the Minnesota attacker, citing an ongoing investigation.

The blast on 23rd Street injured 29 people.

Atlhough Cuomo on Sunday referred to the explosion as an act of “terrorism”, NYPD, FBI and other NYC officials were hesitant to use the phrase until a suspect or motive could be established.

And a manhunt is under way for 28-year-old Ahmad Khan Rahami after NY police identified him as wanted in connection with the bombing Saturday night in New York’s Chelsea neighborhood, which wounded 29 people.

NY media said the vehicle’s five passengers were in custody for questioning. As authorities tried to investigate, one of those bombs exploded.

Some 135 heads of state or government are expected to attend this week’s event at the United Nations, and city officials said they had bolstered an already heavy security force with 1,000 more uniformed police officers and National Guard members.

New Jersey Transit says Northeast Corridor and North Jersey Coast Line trains began rolling at 5:30 a.m. Monday. Investigators believe the blast was caused by an explosive device in or near a dumpster, a law enforcement source told CNN. Democratic rival Hillary Clinton said in a statement she had been briefed but would wait until she had more information before commenting further.

On Tuesday, President Barack Obama and other world leaders are due to attend the UN General Assembly in NY.

He was expected to comment Monday afternoon after a meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi (HY’-dahr ahl ah-BAH’-dee) on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in NY.

Twenty-nine people were injured in the Saturday night blast. Neighborhood residents who could show identification were allowed back into their homes.

A law enforcement official told The Associated Press on Sunday that the Federal Bureau of Investigation is aware of the posting and was working to determine its authenticity.

The bombing in New York City’s Chelsea neighborhood injured 29 people. A robot removed the device safely. Elizabeth directly borders Newark Airport, one of the busiest airports in the country, and sits across a narrow body of water from the New York City border. Authorities believe the three bombing incidents this weekend in Seaside Park, New Jersey, New York City, and Elizabeth, New Jersey, are related.

Mobile phones were discovered at the site of both bombings, but no Tannerite residue was identified in the New Jersey bomb remnants, in which a black powder was detected, said the official.

The official wasn’t authorized to discuss details of the ongoing investigation and spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity. Whilst a source told the Associated Press that the NY device had used Tannerite, an explosive which is often used in target shooting to mark a shot with a cloud of smoke and small explosion. Mayor Bill de Blasio said he could be armed and risky.

Associated Press writer Alicia A. Caldwell contributed to this report from Washington, D.C. The source told Fox News that it was unclear what type of device was found or if there were any connections to the Chelsea bombing or the explosion in Seaside Park, N.J.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) in New York City, for example, has increased patrols and surveillance “to provide heightened protection across all its agencies”, according to a news release issued by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office.

Mr Cuomo said: “A bomb exploding in NY is obviously an act of terrorism”.

FBI investigators are examining remnants of the bomb, along with another unexploded device found four blocks away.

Authorities in New York City are working to determine whether there was any connection between several explosive devices found in two states in two days.

A second device was found four blocks away on West 27th Street. Linden Mayor Derek Armstead said, “At approximately 10:30 this morning, the owner of one of the establishments in town reported that there was an individual sleeping in his hallway”. Most of the injuries were minor.

Rudy Alcide, a bouncer at Vanity Nightclub at 21st Street and 6th Avenue, said he, at first, thought something large had fallen. Mayor Bill de Blasio called the blast an “intentional act”, but said there was no terrorist connection. There turned out to be five devices in the bag. Pedestrians can be seen scrambling as the blast occurred.

The Department of Children said it will examine “the progress of the campus towards and capacity to deliver the highest standards of care to the young people detained there”.

The blast is under investigation.

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“Certain elements are the same, certain pieces of technology are the same. they’re not identical but they are similar, which would suggest that you could have had a common mastermind in the construction of the bombs and that is a piece of information that I think is fair to say has informed the investigation going forward”, Cuomo said.

Law Enforcement Officers are seen at the scene of an explosion on West 23rd Street on Sunday in New York. AFP