Investigators See Signs NYC Plot Came From Abroad

(May 3) -- Officials in the Obama administration are becoming increasingly convinced that Saturday's failed attempt to set off a makeshift bomb in New York's Times Square was the work of terrorists with foreign ties, according to one report.

Though no official conclusions have yet been made, The Washington Post reports that several officials briefed on the investigation said that mounting evidence shows a coordinated foreign network was behind the plot.

"Don't be surprised if you find a foreign network," a person at the briefing was told. "They're looking at some telltale signs, and they're saying it's pointing in that direction."
Another senior official told A BC News that the suspects involved "are living here and did not come from overseas to carry out the bombing."

Meanwhile, at a press briefing Monday, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs termed the failed bombing an act of terrorism.

"I would say that was intended to terrorize, and I would say that whomever did that would be categorized as a terrorist," Gibbs said.

Police interviewed the owner of the 1993 Nissan Pathfinder that had carried the explosives, but determined that he was not involved in the crime. According to ABC News, the Connecticut man whom police spoke with said he sold the vehicle last month to an "Arabic- or Latino-looking man" who was in his 20s or 30s.

A manhunt is ongoing to find the driver of the SUV, but Attorney General Eric Holder said that "substantial progress" had been made. The Pathfinder, officials said, left behind a trove of potential leads.

On Sunday, the Taliban in Pakistan claimed responsibility for the bomb and vowed to carry out future strikes on American soil.

Earlier, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said it's too early to say whether terrorists were responsible for the bomb found Saturday evening on one of the season's first summerlike days, when the area was filled with tourists and theatergoers.

"I think it's premature to rule it in or out," Napolitano said on NBC's "Today" show. "The investigation now needs to take its course."

The Nissan Pathfinder was discovered Saturday holding a gasoline-and-propane bomb that failed to detonate. Street vendors alerted police at 6:34 p.m. after noticing the SUV parked and idling with its hazard lights flashing and smoke coming out.

"At first, it was just a small amount," vendor Lance Orton told the "Today" show. "Then it got steadily worse and was coming from all sides of the car."

The scare caused the evacuation of thousands of people, but ultimately the device fizzled. The area was shut down for 10 hours, bringing one of the city's busiest areas to a halt.

As the investigation by police and the FBI continued, authorities interviewed the SUV's registered owner, who is not a suspect, The New York Times and The Associated Press reported. "We've identified and spoken to the registered owner," Paul Browne, the chief spokesman for the New York Police Department, told the paper, adding that no suspects or motive have been identified.

The owner was questioned Sunday night in Connecticut, where the SUV is registered, the AP reported, citing unidentified law enforcement officials.

Inside the SUV, authorities found three propane tanks, two 5-gallon gasoline containers, fireworks, two inexpensive-looking alarm clocks, electrical wire and fertilizer in a metal cabinet. New York Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said that although the fertilizer was not the explosive kind, he said he believed it was intended to cause shrapnel.

The device, Kelly said, could have caused casualties and shattered windows. "I think we would have seen a significant fireball" had the bomb gone off, he said.

The stolen Connecticut license plate on the Pathfinder was registered to a vehicle at a repair shop in Stratford, Conn., where its matching plate was also found. Police spoke to the repair shop owner, Wayne LeBlanc, early Sunday.

"We're trying to help them identify who took the plates," LeBlanc told the Times, adding that police took a black Ford pickup truck.

Police also flew to Pennsylvania, where a tourist shot video that included a man leaving the SUV, the Times said.

"We have seen the video and we're looking to put that out," Kelly told the paper. When asked whether the tape was meaningful to the investigation, he said: "It depends on what other people see in that video. Not so much what we see."

A police spokeswoman later said that the tape had no investigative value and would not be released.

Though claims of responsibility were made by the Pakistani Taliban, Kelly said earlier that there is no evidence pointing to the group. He noted that the Pakistani Taliban had falsely claimed responsibility for past U.S. attacks.

Authorities are searching for the man videotaped near the SUV taking off a dark shirt, revealing a red T-shirt underneath. On the tape, the man is seen putting the dark shirt into a bag and walking away, "looking around a couple of times in a furtive manner," Kelly said.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the tape is one of many authorities are reviewing.

"We've got to be very careful. There are hundreds of tapes. We haven't been through all of them," he said on "Today." "Maybe he had something to do with it, but there's a very good chance that he did not."

Authorities have not made any arrests and are looking into several leads.

Several news organizations received an e-mail in which someone takes responsibility for the failed attack.

And reports speculated about a possible connection to the Times Square-based Viacom, which owns Comedy Central. The network received threats after it aired a "South Park" episode that satirized the Prophet Muhammad in a bear suit. Islam forbids images of its holiest prophet.

Napolitano wouldn't say whether she thought the bomb was intended to harm regular Americans or a specific target like Viacom.

"We'll know more over the course of the coming hours, days and weeks as the leads are pursued, subjects are identified, interviews can be conducted and we can get to the bottom of this," she said.

The Pathfinder has been taken to a police lab. No fingerprints had been found as of Sunday night, the Times said.

Meanwhile, Bloomberg had dinner Sunday night in Times Square with Wayne Rhatigan, the police officer first alerted to the bomb by the street vendor. "He did exactly was he should have done," Bloomberg said, noting that the officer called for backup.

Asked how he felt today about his brush with disaster, Orton said, "Glad to be here. Glad to be here."