Times Square accused says inspired by Yemeni-American militant al-Awlaki

Washington, May 7 (ANI): The Pakistani-American man accused of trying to detonate a car bomb in Times Square last Saturday, has told investigators that he drew inspiration from Yemeni-American militant cleric Anwar al-Awlaki.

The New York Times quoted an American official, as saying that Faisal Shahzad had said he was "inspired by" the violent rhetoric of Awlaki.

"He listened to him, and he did it," the official said, referring to Saturday's attempted bombing on a busy street in Times Square.

Meanwhile, a senior military official said Thursday that Shahzad had told interrogators that he met with Pakistani Taliban operatives in North Waziristan in December and January.

He added that he had also received explosives training from the same operatives.

Counter-terrorism officials want to know how Shahzad, a naturalized American citizen who had earned an M.B.A., married and had children and worked in several corporate jobs, came to embrace violence.

Earlier this year, the Obama administration took the extraordinary step of authorizing the killing of Awlaki, making him the first American citizen on the Central Intelligence Agency's hit list.

Awlaki's English-language online lectures and writings have turned up in more than a dozen terrorism investigations in the United States, Britain and Canada, counter-terrorism experts have said. (ANI)