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14 July 2010 Last updated at 11:50 ET
Video of Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad surfaces
Faisal Shahzad: "Islam will spread on the whole world and democracy will be defeated" - video courtesy of Al Arabiya (the video can be seen here BBC News - Video of Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad surfaces )
A video has emerged in which the man who attempted to set off a car bomb in New York defends his actions. Faisal Shahzad says in the tape he is carrying out the Times Square attack for Muslim fighters, "oppressed and weak Muslims", and "martyrs".The Pakistani-born US citizen admitted all charges relating to the attempted attack on 1 May. A petrol and propane bomb was left in a car but failed to ignite. Shahzad is due to be sentenced in October. A street vendor saw smoke coming from the vehicle and alerted the police.Shahzad was arrested two days later as he tried to take a flight to Dubai from New York's John F Kennedy airport.In the video, broadcast on the al-Arabiya TV station, Shahzad refers to Taliban leader Baytullah Mehsud and al-Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Musaab al-Zarqawi - both of whom were killed by US forces.
"This attack on the United States will be an attack for all the mujahideen, the oppressed and weak Muslims, the martyrs such as Baytullah Mehsud and Abu Musaab al-Zarqawi and all those Muslims and Arabs who have been martyred," he says.
"I carry out this for them and I hope that they are pleased with it."
He added: "Eight years have passed since the Afghanistan war (began) and you shall see how the Muslim war has just begun, and how Islam will spread across the world."
'Muslim soldier'
In a court appearance in Manhattan last month, Shahzad said he wanted to let the US know that if it did not get out of Iraq and Afghanistan and stop drone attacks and meddling in Muslim lands, "we will be attacking US".
Faisal Shahzad charges
Shahzad, 30, told the court: "One has to understand where I'm coming from. I consider myself... a Muslim soldier."During their investigation, the FBI traced the purchase of the Nissan Pathfinder SUV to Shahzad, a transaction that eventually led to his arrest.While being interrogated, Shahzad revealed he had gone to Pakistan's North Waziristan tribal region in December 2009 for bomb training with militants affiliated with the Pakistani Taliban, according to the indictment.He is also alleged to have received about $5,000 in cash from an identified co-conspirator in Pakistan, whom he understood worked for the Taliban. It said the same co-conspirator directed a second payment to Shahzad, of $7,000 in April, with which he bought a weapon, material to make the car bomb and the Nissan Pathfinder.
BBC News - Video of Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad surfaces
Video of Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad surfaces
Faisal Shahzad: "Islam will spread on the whole world and democracy will be defeated" - video courtesy of Al Arabiya (the video can be seen here BBC News - Video of Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad surfaces )
A video has emerged in which the man who attempted to set off a car bomb in New York defends his actions. Faisal Shahzad says in the tape he is carrying out the Times Square attack for Muslim fighters, "oppressed and weak Muslims", and "martyrs".The Pakistani-born US citizen admitted all charges relating to the attempted attack on 1 May. A petrol and propane bomb was left in a car but failed to ignite. Shahzad is due to be sentenced in October. A street vendor saw smoke coming from the vehicle and alerted the police.Shahzad was arrested two days later as he tried to take a flight to Dubai from New York's John F Kennedy airport.In the video, broadcast on the al-Arabiya TV station, Shahzad refers to Taliban leader Baytullah Mehsud and al-Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Musaab al-Zarqawi - both of whom were killed by US forces.
"This attack on the United States will be an attack for all the mujahideen, the oppressed and weak Muslims, the martyrs such as Baytullah Mehsud and Abu Musaab al-Zarqawi and all those Muslims and Arabs who have been martyred," he says.
"I carry out this for them and I hope that they are pleased with it."
He added: "Eight years have passed since the Afghanistan war (began) and you shall see how the Muslim war has just begun, and how Islam will spread across the world."
'Muslim soldier'
In a court appearance in Manhattan last month, Shahzad said he wanted to let the US know that if it did not get out of Iraq and Afghanistan and stop drone attacks and meddling in Muslim lands, "we will be attacking US".
Faisal Shahzad charges
- Attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction
- Conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction
- Possession of a firearm during and in relation to a conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction
- Attempted act of terrorism transcending national boundaries
- Conspiracy to commit an act of terrorism transcending national boundaries
- Attempted use of a destructive device during and in relation to a conspiracy to commit an act of terrorism transcending national boundaries
- Transportation of an explosive
- Conspiracy to transport an explosive
- Attempted destruction of property by fire and explosive
- Conspiracy to destroy property by fire and explosive
Shahzad, 30, told the court: "One has to understand where I'm coming from. I consider myself... a Muslim soldier."During their investigation, the FBI traced the purchase of the Nissan Pathfinder SUV to Shahzad, a transaction that eventually led to his arrest.While being interrogated, Shahzad revealed he had gone to Pakistan's North Waziristan tribal region in December 2009 for bomb training with militants affiliated with the Pakistani Taliban, according to the indictment.He is also alleged to have received about $5,000 in cash from an identified co-conspirator in Pakistan, whom he understood worked for the Taliban. It said the same co-conspirator directed a second payment to Shahzad, of $7,000 in April, with which he bought a weapon, material to make the car bomb and the Nissan Pathfinder.
BBC News - Video of Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad surfaces
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