New York attack suspect charged over bombings

NEW YORK

Policemen place in an ambulance a man they identified as Ahmad Khan Rahami, who is wanted for questioning in connection with an explosion in New York City, in Linden, New Jersey, in this still image taken from video September 19, 2016. REUTERS photo

U.S. authorities charged New York bombing suspect Ahmad Khan Rahami on Sept. 20 with use of a weapon of mass destruction in weekend attacks in Manhattan and New Jersey.

The charges, filed in a Manhattan court by U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, also include bombing, destruction of property and use of a destructive device, according to the 14-page indictment.

A pressure cooker bomb that went off in Manhattan Sept. 17 injured 29 people. Another bomb that exploded on the New Jersey shore did not hurt anyone but forced the cancellation of a Marine Corps charity race.

The indictment says video recovered from the cell phone of a relative of Rahami, 28, shows him lighting incendiary material in a cylindrical container two days before the bombings.

A handwritten manual recovered from him after his arrest on Sept. 19 includes writings criticizing the U.S. government for the “slaughter” of Muslim fighters in Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq and elsewhere, it adds.

Rahami also wrote that he was worried over the prospect of being caught before he could carry out a suicide attack, the indictment says.