According to a Reuters report, Rahami was not listed on USA counterterrorism databases.
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The announcement came as the New York Police Department said authorities were searching for 28-year-old Ahmad Khan Rahami in connection with the bombing.
Harinder Bains recognised Ahmad Khan Rahami from reports after discovering him slumped against the glass of his pub doorway in Elizabeth, New Jersey.
Cuomo, appearing later on “Fox & Friends”, confirmed that authorities are seeking Ahmad Khan Rahami, 28, who is believed to be a US citizen of Afghan descent. “We have reason to believe this was an act of terror”, he said of the bombing investigation.
An explosion in Manhattan on Saturday injured 29 people.
As well as two detonated bombs in Manhattan, a small bomb exploded along the route of a charity run for the Marine Corps in Seaside Park but caused no injuries. No one was injured. Ahmad Khan Rahami and at least two Linden police officers were injured. The Union County Prosecutor’s Office charged Rahami with five counts of attempted murder on police officers.
Rahami, a US citizen born in Afghanistan, was last known to be living in Elizabeth, N.J., where a backpack containing up to five devices was discovered in a trash bin near a pub next to commuter train tracks.
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio told CNN that Rahami might be armed and unsafe.
Governor Andrew Cuomo said that the bombs have similarities, suggesting “there might have been a common linkage”. A cell phone connected to the pressure cooker also provided some clues, the official said.
The official who spoke to AP insisted on anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation.
Five suspicious devices were found near a train station in Elizabeth, New Jersey late Sunday. He says was one was struck in a protective vest and the other in the hand.
Mohammad Rahami told reporters outside his chicken restaurant in Elizabeth, New Jersey, on Tuesday morning that he called law enforcement twice.
Contacted by AFP, police in Linden said they had no immediate comment. Another explosive was found nearby, and multiple bombs were discovered in a backpack in Elizabeth, N.J. No one has been charged with any crime. The suspect’s fingerprints were found on the second Chelsea device, the indictment said, which was safely defused.
As authorities continue to investigate the blast, Rahami is also expected to face terrorism charges in relation to the attack.
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Citing unnamed law enforcement sources, CNN said the trips included a year-long stay in Pakistan ending in March 2014. The St. Cloud police chief said the man reportedly made at least one reference to Allah and asked a victim if he or she was Muslim before attacking.
