New York, Sep 19 (IANS) On the day suspicious backpacks containing five explosive devices were found in New Jersey's Elizabeth city, the New York police said on Monday they are looking for an Afghan national for the Chelsea bombing that injured 29 persons.
New York was on high alert since a pressure cooker device explosion on Saturday rocked the Chelsea district of Manhattan and another similar device was found just four blocks away.
Federal authorities have detained five persons with possible links to the blast though no one has been charged yet, CNN reported.
Earlier on Saturday, there was an explosion at Seaside Park, New Jersey, which was timed to disrupt a Marine Corps charity run.
Governor Andrew Cuomo said that the bombs have similarities, suggesting "there might have been a common linkage."
Cuomo said the investigation is ongoing, and "I wouldn't be surprised if it zeroes in on a particular individual, today even," and that he "wouldn't be surprised if we found a foreign connection to the act."
A mystery caller telephoned police hours after bombs were found in Manhattan to warn that there would be more attacks, a local newspaper has reported.
The blast is understood to have originated from a device placed in a pressure cooker outside the Associated Blind Housing facility at 135 West 23rd Street. A second device was found four blocks away on West 27th Street.
Both bombs in New York were filled with shrapnel and made with pressure cookers, flip phones, Christmas lights and explosive compound, the New York Times reported late Sunday, citing law enforcement officials.
An official told Fox News on Sunday that the bombs in New Jersey and New York were "from the same person" and the devices in both explosions included mobile phones.
New York's Mayor Bill de Blasio said the blast in Chelsea was an "intentional act" but he insisted that there was no credible terrorist threat to the city and there was no link with the New Jersey explosion.
The New York police said on Monday they are looking for 28-year-old Afghan national Ahmad Khan Rahami for the Chelsea bombing.
Nine persons were also injured on Saturday night in a stabbing attack at a mall in the US state of Minnesota.
The Joint Terrorism Task Force was called in to investigate the Chelsea blasts well as the New Jersey incident.
