He's the FBI's "main guy": Alleged NYC bomber Ahmad Khan Rahami wasn't part of terror cell, officials say

Investigators probing the New York and New Jersey bombs say they've found no evidence of a broader terror cell

Published September 19, 2016 6:37PM (EDT)

Bill de Blasio and James O'Neill at a news conference on September 19, 2016 in New York City.   (Getty Images/Spencer Platt)
Bill de Blasio and James O'Neill at a news conference on September 19, 2016 in New York City. (Getty Images/Spencer Platt)

Investigators probing bomb blasts in New York and New Jersey say they've found no evidence so far that the suspect in the attacks was part of a broader terrorist cell.

In a news briefing Monday, the assistant director of the FBI’s field office in New York, William Sweeney Jr., said, “There is no indication that there’s a cell” in the area.

A law enforcement official said that Ahmad Khan Rahami, 28, who was arrested Monday morning after a shootout with police, was the “main guy.” Officials are looking into whether any others had a role.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Monday there is “every reason to believe this was an act of terror.”

The three bombs had one component in common: a flip-style cellphone.

According to a federal law enforcement official, a pipe bomb that exploded in Seaside Park, New Jersey, was constructed with a threaded pipe and black powder.

The official said two devices found in New York City included pressure cookers, similar to the devices used in the 2013 attack at the Boston Marathon that killed three people and wounded hundreds. The device that exploded in Chelsea contained residue from the commercially available explosive compound Tannerite.

One of the bombs went off, injuring 29 people. The other didn't explode.

The official was not authorized to publicly to discuss the case and spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss details of the ongoing investigation.


By The Associated Press



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