NEW YORK, March 9 \u2014 An improvised explosive thrown near anti-Islam protesters outside the New York mayor\u2019s residence was a viable device \u201cthat could have caused serious injury or death,\u201d police said yesterday.<\/p>\n
Two suspicious devices were thrown by a man identified by police as Emir Balat near the protest Saturday led by a far-right influencer to oppose public Muslim prayer.<\/p>\n
An AFP correspondent at the scene heard Balat shout \u201cAllahu akbar\u201d (\u201cGod is the greatest\u201d) during the incident, which is under investigation by counter-terrorism detectives.<\/p>\n
On Sunday, the police bomb squad inspected a car near to the scene of the previous day\u2019s incident, an AFP correspondent saw, with officers reporting a \u201csuspicious device\u201d was discovered.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe NYPD Bomb Squad has conducted a preliminary analysis of a device that was ignited and deployed at a protest yesterday and has determined that it is not a hoax device or smoke bomb. It is, in fact, an improvised explosive device (IED),\u201d the New York Police Department (NYPD) said in a statement Sunday.<\/p>\n
Police had said Saturday that the devices were jars wrapped in tape and containing nuts, bolts and screws\u2014typical components of an IED.<\/p>\n
Two men were arrested after Saturday\u2019s incident: Balat and Ibrahim Kayumi, who reportedly handed over a device that was thrown by Balat, who dropped it near a line of police.<\/p>\n
The events unfolded after the far-right influencer, Jake Lang, staged a demonstration outside Gracie Mansion, the official residence of New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who is Muslim.<\/p>\n
Lang was protesting alleged \u201cIslamification\u201d and calling for an end to \u201cpublic Muslim prayer\u201d in New York.<\/p>\n
His protest drew around 20 people while a counter-protest drew about 125. Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said Saturday she did not believe Mamdani was home at the time.<\/p>\n
On Sunday, the police bomb squad used a robot to inspect a car near to the scene of the previous day\u2019s incident, an AFP correspondent saw.<\/p>\n
A police spokesman could not confirm if the deployment was linked to the events of Saturday.<\/p>\n
\u2018Flames and smoke\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n
AFP correspondents at the scene on Saturday saw a man wearing a dark hooded sweatshirt and beige cargo pants\u2014later identified as Balat\u2014being handed a device wrapped in tape and billowing smoke by another man, named by police as Kayumi.<\/p>\n
Balat dropped the device near a line of police before vaulting a crash barrier.<\/p>\n
\u201cWitnesses reported seeing flames and smoke as it travelled through the air before it struck a barrier a few feet from police officers,\u201d police commissioner Tisch said Saturday.<\/p>\n
Balat threw a similar device near Lang\u2019s group of protesters.<\/p>\n
The NYPD statement said Balat and Kayumi were arrested at the scene Saturday and are in custody.<\/p>\n
It said the NYPD is working on the investigation with the US Attorney\u2019s Office for the Southern District of New York and the FBI through the NYPD\u2019s Joint Terrorism Task Force.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe attempt to use an explosive device and hurt others is not only criminal, it is reprehensible and the antithesis of who we are,\u201d Mamdani said Sunday.<\/p>\n
There was no indication the incident was related to the ongoing hostilities in Iran, Tisch said Saturday. \u2014 AFP<\/p>\n
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