Bomb Suspect Faisal Shahzad Said to Have Met With Top Pakistani Taliban Official

(May 5) -- On his most recent trip to Pakistan, Times Square bomb suspect Faisal Shahzad met with one of the country's top Taliban leaders, Pakistani officials told Fox News.

Citing an unidentified U.S. official, the network said Shahzad told U.S. authorities he was upset over American drone attacks on his native Pakistan, including one that occurred while he was visiting the country.

Shahzad met with Qari Hussain, the third highest ranking member of the Pakistani Taliban, in Waziristan, the province where Shahzad is believed to have received explosives training, Fox News reported.

A combination of two undated photos shows Faisal Shahzad and Qari Hussain Mehsud.

Orkut / AP / AFP / Getty Images

Times Square car bombing suspect Faisal Shahzad, left, reportedly met with one of Pakistan's top Taliban leaders, Qari Hussain, on his most recent trip to the country.

On Sunday, the day before Shahzad was apprehended by U.S. authorities, the Pakistani Taliban released a video claiming responsibility for the Times Square attack. Hakimullah Mehsud, the leader of the Pakistani group, also warned of imminent attacks on major U.S. cities.

"Our fighters are already in the United States," Mehsud said in the video.

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A senior Pakistani government official told The Wall Street Journal that Shahzad had received instruction from the Taliban's "suicide-bomb trainer."

So far, more than a dozen arrests have been made in Karachi in connection with the bungled Times Square attack, the Journal reported. Among those arrested is Mohammad Rehan, a militant who Pakistani investigators believe may have helped arrange Shahzad's travel.

U.S. officials have yet to confirm any direct link between Shahzad and the Pakistani Taliban, and had initially questioned whether the unsophisticated car bomb that failed to detonate in Times Square showed any training had ever occurred.

But by late today, an anonymous U.S. government source told Reuters news service that a connection between the Pakistani Taliban and Shahzad was "entirely plausible."