Times Square bomber charged with 10 terrorism and weapons counts

New York, June 18 (ANI): Would be Times Square car bomber Faisal Shahzad, 30, has been charged with 10 terrorism and weapons counts by a federal grand jury here.

According to a New York Daily News report, the Pakistani Taliban helped Shahzad, a naturalized US citizen from Pakistan, to attempt the attack on American soil.

It quoted Attorney General Eric Holder, as saying: "It is a reminder that we face an evolving threat that we must continue to fight with every tool available to the government."

The 13-page indictment tacks on five additional charges to the original case against Shahzad, who was living in Connecticut.

Shahzad was caught just after the doors closed on his Dubai-bound flight at JFK Airport two days after cops say he left an SUV with a crude gasoline-and-propane bomb inside parked on a Times Square street

The bearded son of a Pakistani Air Force Air Vice Marshal began cooperating with federal officials almost immediately and has given intelligence officials a wealth of information, sources have said.

The indictment also said Shahzad received 5,000 dollars in cash in Massachusetts on February 25 from a co-conspirator in Pakistan whom Shahzad understood worked for Tehrik-e-Taliban.

Approximately six weeks later, on April 10, 2010, he received 7,000 dollars more in cash in Ronkonkoma, Long Island, the indictment said.

Shahzad will be formally arraigned Monday. (ANI)