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Times Square bomb and recent Chicago terror arrests have Pakistan link, vigilance urged-video


FBI searches Faisal Shahza's home in Bridgeport, Conn. Ap photo/Jessica Hill

The news that a Pakistani national has been arrested in the Times Square car bomb incident adds to a growing list of alleged terrorists with connections to Pakistan.

In Chicago, there have been two recent cases of local men with Pakistani ties arrested for alleged terror-related activities.

David Headley, a Chicago man of Pakistani descent,  pleaded guilty March 18 to planning terrorist attacks in Mumbai India that killed 170 people in 2008. He also pleaded guilty to plotting an attack on a Danish newspaper facility.

Headley attended a terrorist training camp in Pakistan.

See: Chicagoan David Coleman Headley pleads guilty in Mumbai terror attacks

Also in Chicago,  Raja Lahrasib Khan, 56, of the North Side, was charged March 30 with trying to send several hundred dollars to an alleged Pakistani terrorist with al Qaeda ties.

In announcing the charges, investigators said Khan also mulled over the idea of attacking a stadium somewhere in the United States this August.

(see: No bond for Chicago cab driver linked to al Qaeda terrorists

Four Chicago area soldiers were among the 13 people killed when Major Nidal Malik Hasan, a Pakistani-American Army psychiatrist opened fire on soldiers at the Fort Hood military base last November. He is said to have been a devout Muslim opposed to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

4 area soldiers confirmed dead in Fort Hood rampage (Slideshow)

The suspect in the Times Square attempted car bombing is Faisal Shahzad, 30, was arrested last night on board a Dubai-bound flight  waiting fro take-off from Kennedy Airport.  Shahzad is a naturalized U.S. citizen who lives in Connecticut but is originally from Pakistan.  The Associated Press reports he recently returned from a five month trip to Pakistan. He says he has a wife there.

In announcing the arrest last night, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holden said investigators have significant evidence implicating Shahzad. Holden said an aggressive investigation continues to determine who else may have been involved in the bomb plot. ( See an AP video of the Holden announcement below)

Holden noted Shahzad's intention was to kill Americans when he drove an SUV with an explosive devise to Times Square last Saturday evening. A street vendor alerted authorities to the suspicious vehicle and Holden encourages Americans to follow that vendor's example and remain vigilant.

That advise was echoed by Chicago Police Supt. Jody Weis yesterday, although he said there is no indication Chicago is the target of any bomb plots like the one in New York.

 

 

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Chicago Crime Examiner

Deborah O'Malley is a veteran Chicago producer. She's worked in various capacities at WMAQ-TV, Fox News, and ABC Network News Chicago. She's...

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