NY bombing suspect spent weeks at Pakistani madrassa

The suspect behind the recent New York and New Jersey bombings, Ahmad Khan Rahami reportedly spent time in a Pakistani madrassa closely associated with the Afghan Taliban, a government official told The Guardian.

The 28-year-old, Afghan-born American, spent time at the Kaan Kuwa Naqshbandi madrassa on his two visits to Pakistan, a security official working for the government of Balochistan revealed.

“Rahami spent three weeks in 2011 receiving lectures and Islamic education at the madrassa in Kuchlak,” the official said.

Kuchlak, located 20kilometres north of Quetta, is a well-known hub for the Taliban. It is home to many madrassas intimately linked with the group.

“Rahami also visited other sensitive areas in the province, including Surkhab and Nushki, where former Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansoor was killed by a US drone in May,” he said.

US officials have released basic details about Rahami’s two visits to Pakistan.

The first visit was in 2011 when he spent a couple of months in Quetta and got married and the second was when he journeyed to Afghanistan in 2013 and spent almost a year.

“But very little information has emerged from inside Pakistan about what Rahami did during his visits.”

Ahmad Khan Rahami of Elizabeth, New Jersey was captured in Linden, New Jersey, Elizabeth Mayor Chris Bollwage had told reporters. He said two officers were shot and that Rahami was wounded and taken to a local hospital.

Investigators believe more people were involved in the New York and New Jersey bombing incidents, two US officials said.  The motive behind the bombings was not immediately clear, though New York Governor Andrew Cuomo described it as an apparent act of ‘terrorism.’