Police averted a “very deadly event” when they discovered an explosive device in a car in the bustling Times Square in New York City on Saturday night.
Reports said a local vendor noticed smoke coming out of a parked Nissan Pathfinder sport utility vehicle and alerted the police.
The police used a robot from their bomb squad to break through the back window of the SUV and retrieve the items after several hours.
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said a suspicious vehicle in Times Square “did indeed contain an explosive device. It certainly could have exploded and had a pretty big fire and a decent amount of explosive impact.”
At a press conference, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly was reported as saying the car contained three propane tanks, consumer-grade fireworks, two filled 5-gallon gasoline containers, and two clocks with batteries, electrical wire and other components.
He also noted that a black metal box resembling a gun locker was recovered.
There was no positive match to the licence plate and police were said to be looking for additional surveillance video.
After discovering the “amateurish” bomb, the police cleared the tourist-packed area and dismantled the vehicle.
In a statement, Governor David Paterson praised the “heroic actions” of the New York Police Department and “a single vigilant New Yorker who identified a suspicious vehicle”.
He added, “Now the full attention of city, state and federal law enforcement will be turned to bringing the guilty party to justice in this act of terrorism.”
Media reports quoted two federal officials as saying it was too early to say whether Al-Qaeda or another group was involved and the national threat level remained at “yellow,” or elevated.
Times Square, an iconic spot at the heart of New York's Manhattan and a magnet for tourists and locals alike, has been a target of terrorist plans on earlier occasions too.
Investigations into a plot to bomb the subway station there led to the arrest of terror suspect Najibullah Zazi v.
