Pakistani Taliban take credit for failed Times Square car bomb

A commander of the Pakistani Taliban is taking credit for the failed Times Square car bomb plot. They released a YouTube video earlier today. The video has since been taken down.

The Long War Journal: Qari Hussain Mehsud, the top bomb maker for the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan, said he takes "fully responsibility for the recent attack in the USA." Qari Hussain made the claim on an audiotape accompanied by images that was released on a YouTube website that calls itself the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan News Channel.

The tape has yet to be verified, but US intelligence officials contacted by The Long War Journal believe it is legitimate. The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan News Channel on YouTube was created on April 30. Officials believe it was created to announce the Times Square attack, and Qari Hussain’s statement was pre-recorded.

All indications are the tape is legitimate. YouTube has pulled the video and shut down the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan News Channel since this article was published.

"This attack is a revenge for the great & valuable martyred leaders of mujahideen," Qari Hussain said. He listed Baitullah Mehsud, the former leader of the Pakistani Taliban who was killed in a Predator strike in August 2009, and Abu Omar al Baghdadi, the former leader of al Qaeda Islamic State of Iraq who was killed by Iraqi forces in mid-April. And although he was not mentioned, an image of Abu Ayyub al Masri, the leader of al Qaeda in Iraq, was also displayed in the images accompanying the audiotape. [MORE]

Well it is official(?); the Taliban is now targeting NYC. What I find frightening is that this amateurish attempt is probably only the beginning.  I fear that we are about to see a lot more of these attempts in the coming months.

Earlier today there was talk that the car bomb might have been revenge against Comedy Central. Comedy Central’s parent company Viacom is located right around the corner from where the car bomb was found. However NYPD is saying that is not an angle they are working on. The YouTube tape pretty much rules out this idea.

I am very grateful, that I do not have to travel during rush hour tomorrow morning. While I must go into the city, I am going to do so during off hours. Stay safe everyone.


UPDATE: Taliban claim unsubstantiated?


From Hot Air:Update: A promising lead from this afternoon’s NYPD presser:

Police and federal agents on Sunday were reviewing surveillance footage that shows a possible suspect in the failed Times Square car bombing, describing him as a white man in his 40s who was walking away from the area where the vehicle was parked, looking furtively over his shoulder and removing a layer of clothing, officials said…

Federal authorities said the incident appeared to be an isolated one, and that there was no evidence of an ongoing threat to the city.

Upon opening the gun locker found in the car, cops discovered eight bags of what could be fertilizer, which of course is what McVeigh used to bring down the Murrah building. There’s also this, which sounds like a crank call but who knows:

On Sunday, police and F.B.I. officials were also investigating a 911 call placed at around 4 a.m. on Sunday, several officials said. The caller, who one official said sounded intelligent, admonished the 911 dispatcher not to interrupt him until he was finished and then said there would be a massive explosion soon and the car in Times Square was only a diversion.

Kelly says there’s no evidence to substantiate the Taliban’s claim of responsibility. Stay tuned.

A white man? You all know where the left is going to try to take this. If true the Tea Party will be blamed in ... 3,2,1.

Via: Memeorandum

Via: The Long War Journal

Via: UK Telegraph

Via: Newsweek
Via: Hot Air