A suspect has been arrested in last Saturday's failed Times Square bomb plot as he was attempting to leave the country on a plane bound for the Middle East. Since his arrest, Faisal Shahzad, a 30-year-old American citizen born in Pakistan, has admitted his role in the attempted bombing and is cooperating with officials who are trying to uncover the extent of the plot.
Shahzad, who had a home and a family in Bridgeport, Connecticut, had recently returned to the United States after a five-month stay in Pakistan. Investigators tracked him down by locating the Vehicle Identification Number, or VIN, on the Nissan Pathfinder that was used to make the car bomb. They discovered that Shahzad had taken several measures to cover his tracks, including paying for the vehicle in cash and using a disposable cell phone to call Pakistan and the fireworks store in Pennsylvania where he bought some of the detonating materials for the bomb.
While the Pakistani Taliban has claimed responsibility for the attack, officials are investigating all possible angles of the case, since Shahzad told them he had trained at a terrorist camp in Pakistan and had acted alone. However, intelligence officials in Pakistan said they have detained several people in their country related to the case, and Shahzad has been linked to the Waziristan region of Pakistan, known as a Taliban stronghold.
The NewsHour's news blog, The Rundown, will be updated with new developments in the case as they occur.
Quotes
"The American people can be assured that the FBI and their partners in this process have all the tools and experience they need to learn everything we can. And that includes what, if any, connection this individual has to terrorist groups." - President Barack Obama
"Again, not all the parts fit together neatly yet, but it seems that this picture is building of at least somebody who had contact with a genuine terrorist group abroad, and was trained by them, had some sympathy for them, but maybe not trained so good, and maybe not very competent himself." - Mark Hosenball, Newsweek reporter
Warm Up Questions
1. Where is Pakistan? Specifically, where is the Waziristan region of Pakistan?
2. What is the Taliban?
3. What do you know about the relationship between the U.S. and Pakistan?
Discussion Questions
1. Why do you think there have been so many conflicting reports about this case? Why would law enforcement officials want to hide some details from the media?
2. Why are terrorist groups so intent on attacking targets in the Western world?
3. Do you think officials reacted well in this case? Why or why not? According to the reporter in the video, what aspects of the case remain unresolved?
Additional Resources
New York City Bombing Plot Highlights Domestic Terrorism Concerns
