Two Pakistani men arrested in raids in Massachusetts yesterday have a direct connection to the Times Square bomb plot suspect, officials said.
The men, held on immigration charges during one of a series of FBI raids, are alleged to have provided funds to Faisal Shahzad through the hawala system of Islamic money transfer.
Officials said that a third man was taken into custody on suspicion of immigration violations during raids believed to be the result of the questioning of Mr Shahzad, who was arrested last week when he attempted to fly to Dubai.
The two men were seized in a dawn raid on a house in Watertown in the Boston suburbs. One had overstayed his visa and the other was already the subject of deportation proceedings. FBI agents also raided a petrol station in Brookline, Massachusetts, as well as two houses in New Jersey and another on Long Island, as a result of the interrogation of Mr Shahzad.Related Links
Mr Shahzad told investigators that he received weapons and explosives training from militants in Pakistan. The Pakistani Taleban has claimed responsibility for the plot. A senior Massachusetts law enforcement official said that the two men had transferred funds to Mr Shahzad from Pakistan but that it was unclear whether they were willing accomplices or simply innocent money dealers. Hawala, which is a centuries-old cash-transfer system used extensively across the Middle East and Central Asia, is a headache for law enforcement because it relies on trust and personal networks and leaves no paper or electronic trace.
“These people might be completely innocent and now know what they were providing money for, but it’s clear there’s a connection,” the official said.
Mr Shahzad was taken off an Emirates airliner last week after he attempted to leave the United States for Dubai two days after a car bomb failed to detonate in Times Square.
Police said that the bomb had alarm clocks connected to a can filled with fireworks, apparently intended to detonate gas cans and propane tanks. The device smouldered but did not explode. Federal agents traced Mr Shahzad through the vehicle’s previous owner in Connecticut.
The failed plot is the first known strike outside Pakistan linked to the Pakistani Taleban and has raised fresh fears about the prospect of a large terrorist attack on American soil. sianrch
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