New York bombings suspect charged

Indictments were issued in both New York and New Jersey on Tuesday against the 28-year-old Afghan-born American, following Saturday's bombings in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood and along the route of a US Marine Corps run in a seaside town.

The 13-page indictment charged Rahami with the use of weapons of mass destruction, bombing a place of public use and destruction of property by means of fire or explosives.

Rahami had already been charged late Monday in New Jersey with five counts of the attempted murder of police officers and weapons-related offenses following a shoot-out with police just before he was taken into custody.

Lucky escape

A total of 31 people were wounded in the Chelsea bombing, which Rahami allegedly created by using a pressure cooker packed with ball bearings and steel nuts, along with a timer.

A second bomb was discovered four blocks away. The suspect's fingerprints were found on the second Chelsea device, the indictment said, which was safely defused.

Prosecutors said five pipe bombs had been found in Rahami's hometown of Elizabeth, New Jersey.

A handwritten journal was found on the suspect that praised Osama bin Laden, the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, and jihadist cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, the indictment added.

Interogation must wait

Rahami is in a critical but stable condition in hospital following Monday's shootout as police attempted to arrest him in Linden, New Jersey. Investigators have not yet been able to interview him in depth.

Investigators said the suspect injured two officers when he fired on them after he was found asleep in a doorway.

Hours before the new charges were confirmed, Rahami's father, Mohammad, told the media he had reported concerns about his son being involved with militants to the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) two years ago.

The FBI acknowledged it had investigated Rahami in 2014, but found no "ties to terrorism" and dropped its inquiry.

Footage purportedly shows suspect

Surveillance video shown on CNN and other US television broadcasters shows a man believed to be Rahami dragging a bag big enough to hold the pressure cooker bomb used in the explosion before Saturday night's blast in Manhattan.

Rahami's wife left the US a few days before the bombings, CNN reported, citing a law enforcement source.

In addition to the New York bombings, a blast occurred on Saturday along the planned route of a US Marines-sponsored charity run in Seaside Park, New Jersey. No one was injured.

Late Sunday police discovered several explosive devices inside a bag at a train station in Elizabeth, New Jersey, just north of Linden. One of the bombs went off while police were trying to defuse it.

mm/kl (AP, AFP, dpa, Reuters)