U.S. officials say a Pakistani-American charged with an attempted car bombing in New York City is cooperating with investigators as they try to determine a motive for the planned attack.
The suspect, Faisal Shahzad, 30, was to appear in a New York Court Tuesday, but his hearing was delayed to Wednesday or Thursday so that he can continue to talk to investigators.
Officials say Shahzad, who is a naturalized U.S. citizen, has admitted his role in the plot, and has been providing valuable information. They also say he waived his constitutional right to remain silent.
Shahzad was arrested after law enforcement agents connected him to a car parked in New York City's Times Square Saturday with a crude bomb inside. He was tracked down and removed from an airplane that was preparing to leave New York for Dubai late Monday.
Authorities are probing any link he may have had to overseas terrorist organizations. They say Shahzad has admitted to receiving explosives training in northwestern Pakistan.
Pakistani intelligence officials say they have arrested several people in the southern city of Karachi in connection with the attempted bombing.
The Taliban in Pakistan claimed responsibility for the failed attack, but officials in the U.S. and Pakistan have been skeptical of that claim.
Shahzad managed to board his flight to Dubai despite being placed on a "no-fly" list hours before it was scheduled to take off.
Now, the U.S. government is changing the rules to require airlines to check the no-fly list more often.
Previously, airlines had 24 hours to check the list after being notified that a high-risk name has been added. They now must check within two hours.
The airline, Emirates, says it followed security procedures.
It took 53 hours for police to arrest Shahzad from the time the car was discovered. In Washington Wednesday, at a Senate hearing on terrorism, New York Police Chief Ray Kelly hailed that as a "remarkable amount of time."
At the same hearing, which had been scheduled before the attempted attack, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said his city has been targeted by terrorists before, and will be again. He said that is why officials in the city are doing everything possible to stop another attack.
Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.
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