Times Square bomb suspect indicted in New York

NEW YORK,  (Reuters) – The man suspected of trying  to set off a car bomb in New York’s Times Square on May 1 was  indicted by a federal grand jury yesterday on  terrorism-related charges.
Pakistani-born Faisal Shahzad, who became a U.S. citizen  last year, was indicted on 10 charges, including attempted use  of a weapon of mass destruction and attempted terrorism  transcending national borders.

He faces life in prison if convicted and has been  cooperating with authorities since he was arrested, officials  said.

“(The) 10-count indictment returned in the Southern  District of New York charges Faisal Shahzad with conspiring  with the Pakistani Taliban to wreak death and destruction in  Times Square,” U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said in a  statement.

Shahzad’s attorney, Philip Weinstein, declined comment on  the indictment.

Shahzad, 30, is accused of parking a vehicle containing a  crude car bomb in Times Square in Midtown Manhattan. He was  arrested aboard a Dubai-bound jetliner two days later that was  minutes from leaving New York’s John F. Kennedy International  Airport.

He did not enter a plea during his first court appearance  on May 18.

Prosecutors said Shahzad, who has a wife and two children  in Pakistan, had traveled to a Taliban and al Qaeda stronghold  in Pakistan to receive bomb-making training.

The Pakistani Taliban, called Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan,  has claimed responsibility for the attempted bombing.

Shahzad lived in the neighboring state of Connecticut and  had returned recently to the United States after spending  several months in Pakistan.