released a diagram today, this diagram, of the contents of mr. shahzad s suv, several white bags of fertilizer, two five gallon gasoline canisters, 152 commercially available m-80 fireworks, three propane gas canisters and two alarm clocks connected to wires. apparently it was the fireworks that were supposed to serve as a detonating device in this case. the problem is the propane tanks serving as the bomb s supposed main charge, the propane tanks are designed to be fire resistant. one u.s. official telling newsweek from what is known of the bomb s construction, it may have been assembled based on a cursory reading of newspaper stories about past bombings. it is unclear whether this attempted bombing was directed by the pakistani taliban or any other terrorist group, if it was between the amateurish design of the bomb and the fact that the alleged bomber left the keys to his house in the ignition, this incident will be taken as a warning of this
mr. shahzad traveled to karachi for more than a month. in february of this year, mr. shahzad returned to the united states from a five-month trip to pakistan. court documents say he received four telephone calls from a pakistani phone number on the day he purchased the suv that was ultimately left filled with explosives in times square. none of those instances of travel to pakistan or phone calls to or from pakistan, of course, are themselves evidence of any kind of wrongdoing, but arrests in this case are reportedly being made in pakistan and the race is on to try to find and trace any real connections that may exist between faisal shahzad and the pakistani taliban. if he did receive bomb-making training in pakistan or anywhere else it appears that training was, thankfully, tremendously inadequate. it does not appear, from our opinion, to be the most sophisticated device. there are a number of opportunities for the device to fail. the justice department
terrorist group s aspirations, not of their ability to execute. joining us from islamabad, nbc s chief foreign correspondent richard engel. richard, thank you for getting up so early to talk to us. i appreciate your time. it is my pleasure. i have spoken to people who said that although this was very amateurish, it should be considered a warning sign. there are links definitely back to this country, back in pakistan. over the last 24 hours pakistani officials say they have arrested a dozen suspects in connection to this case. richard, what can you tell us about mr. shahzad s background? what you ve been able to find about his links in pakistan and anything else we can find out about where he has come from and what his influence may have been? if you look at the chronology of his life, or at least the last several years, it paints a very
organizations and causes. within hours of the failed bombing attempt in times square on saturday night the taliban in pakistan, was already claiming credit for the attack. they posted this audio on youtube hailing the recent attack in the usa. this attack, they claimed was meant to a very long the killing of al qaeda s two top leaders in iraq last month and predator drone strikes in pakistan. the claim for responsibility was widely dismissed when it first came out, but now it has taken on a whole new significance. the charge sheet says after the arrest shahzad admitted he recently received bomb-making training in waziristan, pakistan. faisal shahzad s connections to pakistan are fairly extensive, although he is a u.s. citizen mr. shahzad was born in a village outside peshawar, pakistan, a villain called pabi. after becoming a u.s. citizen
we believe that this suspected terrorist fashioned a bomb from rudimentary ingredients, placed it in a rusty suv and drove it into times square with the intent to kill as many innocent tourists and theater goers as possible. if mr. shahzad hadn t readily admitted to that, investigators were prepared to present a trove of physical evidence linking him to the crime scene. for example, a keyring left in the ignition of that suv containing a key to mr. shahzad s house in connecticut, as well as to another car that he owned. whatever the level of mr. shahzad s intentions or affiliations, his terrorist trade craft seems to have been strictly low grade. that said, with his would-be bomb neutralized and towed away and shahzad in custody and talking to his interrogators, the livest wire of this investigation remains his links, his links to broader terrorist