Faisal Shahzad, the Pakistani-American arrested in connection with the failed Times Square car bomb attack, has admitted he had attended a terrorist training camp in Pakistan, the FBI said.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) also said that Shahzad(30) confessed he had attempted to detonate a bomb at Times Square.
Pakistani authorities have meanwhile detained two persons in Karachi for their alleged links with Shahzad, who told the FBI that he had also received bomb-making training at the terror camp in Waziristan, a lawless tribal region where the Pakistani Taliban operates with near impunity.
The training raised the possibility of a coordinated international plot for an attack.
In a 10-page complaint filed yesterday before the Court of Judge Nathaniel Fox, Southern District of New York, the FBI alleged Shahzad
travelled from Connecticut to New York on a sports-utility vehicle (SUV) that was laden with a bomb.
Shahzad was arrested from the New York's John F. Kennedy Airport on Monday night when he was trying to flee the country.
US Attorney General Eric Holder told reporters in New York that Shahzad was co-operating with the federal investigating agencies and was providing useful information.
"After the arrest Shahzad admitted that he had attempted to detonate a bomb in Times Square. He also admitted that he had recently received
bomb-making training in Waziristan, Pakistan," the FBI said.
In Karachi, Security officials, who declined to be named, confirmed at least two detentions but did not reveal further details.
According to other sources, a person identified as Tauseef Ahmed was one of the detainees. Ahmed had made several contacts with Faisal in the last few weeks and had even gone to the US sometime back on his invitation, they said.
The other person picked up was related to Faisal who originally belonged to the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), they said. A television
news channel reported that Tauseef's wife had claimed that her husband was innocent and being made a scapegoat.
The US federal complaint said Shahzad, who gained US citizenship in April last year, returned from Pakistan on February 3. He had arrived on a one-way ticket.
During an immigration inspection, Shahzad told officials that he had been in Pakistan for at least five months to visit his parents.
He indicated that he intended to stay in a motel in Connecticut while he looked for a place to live and a job.
Shahzad further advised his wife to remain behind in Pakistan, the FBI told the court.
In addition, Shahzad admitted that he had brought the Pathfinder to Times Square and attempted to detonate it.
Shahzad also noted that he had driven a particular car to the airport on May 3, 2010 and stated that the car contained a gun, the FBI said, adding the gun was recovered from his car.
"Shahzad, after receiving bomb-making training in Waziristan, Pakistan travelled to the US, transported a sports utility vehicle to the vicinity of 45th Street and Seventh Avenue in Manhattan, New York, and attempted to detonate explosive and incendiary devices located inside the sports utility vehicle," the complaint stated.
Following his arrest late Monday night, the FBI said Shahzad used a pre-paid cellular telephone, which has not been used since April 28, both to call a fireworks store and to receive a series of calls from Pakistan following his purchase of Nissan Pathfinder.