NEW YORK: US authorities have apprehended American citizen of Afghan origin, Ahmad Khan Rahami, in a manhunt issued in connection with the serial bombing in New York and New Jersey. Rahami was reportedly injured in a shoot out in Linden, along with two police officers.
The manhunt for Rahami began after more pipe bombs were found in New Jersey in addition to the ones found in Manhattan, and the one that exploded at the marine corps race. His lead was received through a cellphone timer left with one of the pressure cooker bombs. The homemade bomb exploded in Chelsea region of Manhattan, New York, and while there were no fatalities, over 29 people were injured. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo called the incident an "act of terrorism" at a news conference, also specifying that there was no evidence yet of "international terrorism".
The explosion took place not only during the UN General Assembly session, but also on the 15th anniversary of the 9/11. Mayor Bill de Blasio initially said there was no evidence of a terror connection, but presidential election politics gave the incident a bigger spin. Republican nominee Donald Trump told his supporters at a Colorado airport that "a bomb went off in New York and nobody knows what's going on." He added, "We'll find out. It's a terrible thing that's going on in our world, in our country and we are going to get tough and smart and vigilant." Democrat Hillary Clinton also called the incident a "bombing". "I think it is important to know the facts about any incident like this... It is always wiser to wait until you have information before making conclusions, because we are just in the beginning stages of trying to determine what happened."
