Hunt for 'amateur' car bomber behind deadly New York device

Mayor Michael Bloomberg said: "We avoided what we could have been a very deadly event. It certainly could have exploded and had a pretty big fire and a decent amount of explosive impact."

Investigators removed three propane tanks, fireworks, two filled five-gallon petrol containers, and two clocks with batteries, electrical wire and other components, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly told a news conference.

A black metal box resembling a gun locker was also recovered. "I think the intent was to cause a significant ball of fire," said Mr Kelly.

Mr Bloomberg called the explosive device "amateurish" but potentially deadly, noting: "We are very lucky."

Authorities had no suspects and no motive late yesterday in the latest threat to New York, where a Colorado man recently pleaded guilty to plotting an attack on the subway system to coincide with the eighth anniversary of September 11.

A white robotic police arm broke windows of the black Nissan Pathfinder sport utility vehicle (SUV) to remove any explosive materials after a T-shirt vendor alerted police to the smoking vehicle at about 6:30pm (11.30 pm BST) on Saturday.

Heavily armed police and emergency vehicles shut down the city's busiest streets, teeming with taxis and theatregoers on one of the first summer-like days of the year.

A Connecticut licence plate on the vehicle did not match up with its owner, according to authorities. Police interviewed the Connecticut car owner, who told police he had sent the plates to a nearby junkyard, Mr Bloomberg said. Police are reviewing surveillance video. After the vendor noticed smoke coming from the SUV, police cleared buildings and streets at the so-called "Crossroads of the World"; the area remained closed hours later.

Officers were deployed around the area with heavy weapons on empty streets in the heart of busy midtown Manhattan.

Shelly Carlisle, of Portland, Oregon, said police crowded into a Broadway theatre after the curtain closed on Next to Normal, a show on the same block where the SUV was found.

"At the end of the show, the police came in. We were told we had to leave," Ms Carlisle said. "They said there was a bomb scare." The car was parked on 45th Street, and the area was closed between Seventh and Eighth avenues as a precaution, police said. Times Square lies about four traffic-choked miles north of where terrorists bombed the World Trade Centre in 1993, then laid waste to it on September 11, 2001.

The block that was closed is one of the prime areas for Broadway shows, with seven theatres housing such big shows as Billy Elliot and Lend Me a Tenor.

The curtain at God of Carnage and Red opened a half-hour later than usual, but the shows were not cancelled, said spokesman Adrian Bryan-Brown.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg left a White House correspondent's dinner early on Saturday night.

President Barack Obama, who attended the annual gala, praised the quick response by the New York Police Department. The FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force in New York responded along with the police.

Officials said the device found on Saturday was crudely constructed, but Islamic militants have used propane and compressed gas for years to enhance the force of explosives.

Times Square has been a frequent target, if not for potential terrorists, then for rabble-rousers.

In December, a van without licence plates parked in Times Square led police to block off part of the area for about two hours. A police robot examined the vehicle, and clothes, racks and scarves were found inside.

In March 2008, a hooded bicyclist hurled an explosive device at a military recruiting centre in the heart of Times Square, producing a flash, smoke and full-scale emergency response. No suspect was ever identified.

nLater the Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the failed attack, according to a message released on the internet. In a one-minute video allegedly released by the Pakistani Taliban, the group said the attack was revenge for the death of its leader Baitullah Mehsud and the recent killings of the top leaders of al-Qaida in Iraq.