Times Square bomb suspect had ties to key Pakistani militants

Faisal Shahzad's family background may help explain why he grew radicalized and allegedly contacted the Pakistani Taliban, sources say.

From the La Times:

Faisal Shahzad, the would-be Times Square bomber, grew up in a Pakistani family whose circle of acquaintances included two future militants — a Taliban leader and one of the participants in the 2008 terrorist attack in Mumbai, India, a government source said Friday.

Officials now believe this family background may help explain why Shahzad, after immigrating to the United States, grew radicalized and allegedly contacted the Pakistani Taliban via the Internet. The group would have welcomed him because as a naturalized U.S. citizen, he could easily travel to and from Pakistan.

Agents interviewing Shahzad, 30, who lived in Connecticut, also learned that he was upset over repeated CIA drone attacks on militants in Pakistan, his native country. He was also troubled by marital and financial difficulties and a foreclosure on his home, said the government source, who has been briefed on the investigation. He spoke on the condition of anonymity because the investigation is continuing.

The revelations provide fresh indications that the Pakistani Taliban — in the past mainly concerned with fighting the Pakistani government — has broadened its focus to include the U.S. by encouraging Shahzad to detonate a Nissan Pathfinder in New York last week.

But it remained unclear whether Shahzad's Internet contact with the Taliban was an attempt to volunteer, or whether the militants reached out to him.

"What we don't know is if he was actively recruited by these guys or if he recruited himself," said a second source, a senior U.S. official.

But, the senior official said, if the Taliban has widened its focus to carry out attacks on the United States, then "it would change the game." He added that it could force the U.S. to reassess the threat it faces from Pakistan and how best to respond.