New York police foil major terrorist attack

Police today foiled a major terrorist attack by defusing an "amateurish" but potentially powerful crude car bomb in the heart of New York City's famous tourist hub of Times Square, averting what could have been a "very deadly event" in the US.

"We are very lucky," New York mayor Michael Bloomberg said at a hurriedly organised press conference.

"We avoided what could have been a very deadly event," he said. "It certainly could have exploded and had a pretty big fire and a decent amount of explosive impact."

Traffic was stopped and redirected to the surrounding areas as police closed down a section of Times Square after a foot patrol officer spotted a parked sports utility vehicle identified as a Nissan Pathfinder around 6:30pm last evening (4am IST today).

The officer noticed a box inside the vehicle with smoke coming out of it. The car, parked in a crowded area, was later found to be loaded with a bomb made of electrical components, three propane gas tanks, and two additional gas canisters.

Soon after, hotels, shops, and restaurants in and around Times Square were shut down and thousands of people, including tourists, residents, and theatre-goers, evacuated from the area.

"The bomb squad confirmed that the suspicious vehicle indeed did contain an explosive device," Bloomberg said, adding that the bomb was homemade and "looked amateurish".

"We have no idea who did this or why," he said.

New York state governor David Paterson termed the incident an "act of terrorism".

"Luckily, no one is hurt, and now the full attention of city, state, and federal law enforcement will be turned to bringing the guilty party to justice in this act of terrorism," Paterson said in a statement.

Bomb squad personnel, donning protective gear, broke the Pathfinder’s back windows and sent in a 'robotic device' to 'observe' the device, said deputy commissioner Paul J Browne, the police department's chief spokesperson.

Inside, they discovered three canisters of propane like those used for barbecue grills, two five-gallon cans of petrol, consumer-grade fireworks — the apparent source of the 'pops' — and two clocks with batteries, The New York Times reported.

Browne said: "It appeared it was in the process of detonating, but it malfunctioned."

Bomb squad officers also discovered a two-by-two-by-four-foot metal box — described as a "gun locker" — in the vehicle that was taken to the police department's firing range in the Bronx to be destroyed.

It was not immediately known what, if anything, was inside it.

President Barack Obama commended the "excellent work" of the New York police department for defusing the "bomb crisis" at Times Square.

"At about 10:45pm [local time], the president was updated on the excellent work by the NYPD in relation to the incident in Times Square," White House spokesman Nick Shapiro said in a statement.

The president was briefed by the national security aide after he returned from the annual dinner of the White House Correspondents' Association in Washington, DC.

Security is always on high alert around Times Square, which is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world. Soon after the evacuation of people from buildings and streets, heavily equipped police patrolled the area.

Besides the NYPD, the Federal Bureau of Investigation was pressed into service as part of the joint terrorism task force.

There were also reports of a man having been seen fleeing the area.

The department of homeland security said it was monitoring the developments. Authorities say a Connecticut licence plate on the vehicle did not match up. Police are looking for additional surveillance video.

The streets in Times Square were later reopened after police removed the vehicle in which the bomb was found.

In December, a bomb scare led the city's explosives detonation squad to investigate an unmarked white van which was parked in the area, causing the NYPD to cordon off a large section of the region. After two hours, the police department called it safe.

Meanwhile, homeland security secretary Janet Napolitano said officers were trying to recover evidence from the scene.

In NBC'S Meet the Press programme, she said it was too soon to tell who was responsible.

Napolitano said that while investigators had no suspects, they had recovered forensic evidence, including fingerprints, from the vehicle.

She also said that there were a number of surveillance cameras in the area and they could yield valuable pictures.