New York (AFP) – Two men were charged Monday with “terrorist” offences for throwing a nail bomb near a weekend anti-Islam protest, after which the pair told police they were aligned with the Islamic State group, charging documents showed. The two men, both US citizens, are in custody after allegedly being involved in tossing the bomb packed with explosives.
“This is being investigated as an act of ISIS-inspired terrorism,” NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said, using another name for the Islamic State group. She said it was not thought to be linked to the ongoing conflict in Iran. No one was hurt during the incident. Two suspicious devices were thrown by a man identified by police as Emir Balat near the protest Saturday led by a far-right influencer to oppose public Muslim prayer.
An AFP correspondent at the scene heard Balat shout “Allahu akbar” (“God is the greatest”) during the incident, which is under investigation by counter-terrorism detectives. According to the charging document, the men “referred to ISIS in recorded post-arrest statements… More specifically, Balat wrote on a piece of paper that he pledge(d) allegience (sic) to the Islamic State.” The men were charged with five counts including attempted support of a “foreign terrorist organization” and “use of a weapon of mass destruction.”
On Sunday, the police bomb squad inspected a car connected to the men near the scene. Tisch said a suspicious device found in the vehicle tested negative for explosives.
– ‘Flames and smoke’ –
Police had said Saturday that the devices were jars wrapped in tape and containing nuts, bolts, and screws. Also arrested was Ibrahim Kayumi. The events unfolded after the far-right influencer, Jake Lang, staged a demonstration outside Gracie Mansion, the official residence of New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who is Muslim. Lang was protesting alleged “Islamification” and calling for an end to “public Muslim prayer” in New York. His protest drew around 20 people while a counter-protest drew about 125. Mamdani was not home during the incident.
Lang returned to the scene of the incident Monday and was outside Mamdani’s official residence. AFP correspondents at the scene on Saturday saw a man wearing a dark hooded sweatshirt and beige cargo pants — later identified as Balat — being handed a device wrapped in tape and billowing smoke by another man, named by police as Kayumi. Balat dropped the device near a line of police before vaulting a barrier. “Witnesses reported seeing flames and smoke as it travelled through the air before it struck a barrier a few feet from police officers,” Tisch said Saturday.
© 2024 AFP
