Bomber 'carried out a dry run'

Faisal Shahzad, now in custody on terrorism and weapons charges, drove a 1993 Nissan Pathfinder four-wheel drive car to New York City's landmark Times Square from Connecticut on April 28, apparently to work out where would be the best place to leave it later.

Shahzad went back on Saturday and left the SUV loaded with enough fireworks, petrol and propane gas to create a fireball and kill nearby tourists and Broadway theatregoers had it gone off successfully.

Shahzad, 30, admitted rigging the Pathfinder with a crude bomb based on explosives training he received in Pakistan, say authorities.

He was pulled off a plane headed for Dubai on Monday and has been co-operating with investigators. He has yet to appear in Manhattan federal court.

Shahzad is believed to have been working alone when he began preparing the attack, almost immediately after returning in February from his native country, authorities said.

They said they have yet to find a wider link to extremist groups or to pin down a motive.

"It appears from some of his other activities that March is when he decided to put this plan in motion," New York Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said yesterday.

"He came back from Pakistan February 3, 2010. It may well have been an indicator of putting something catastrophic in motion."

US and Pakistani officials have been unable to verify whether Shahzad trained to make bombs at a terrorist camp in Pakistan.