Calls have been received "warning that other bombs could go off," and the pattern of bombs that were placed in New York City and in New Jersey indicate a link to Islamist-based terrorism, House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul said Monday.
"We always have to worry about that in these types of situations," the Texas Republican told MSNBC's "Morning Joe" program about the possibility of further attacks.
"Remember, the old al-Qaida playbook manual, always talked about simultaneous events, bombs going off simultaneously in multiple locations, which is what we saw, I think, Saturday night, unfortunately."
McCaul, though, said he doesn't really think the sources making the calls are "credible," but still, "you have to take that threat seriously. I know the NYPD and FBI are investigating those leads right now."
It's good news, though, that through tips recovered from people in New York, law enforcement officials have identified Ahmad Khan Rahami, potential suspect behind the New York City bombing and other explosions nearby New Jersey this weekend, said McCaul.
The calls that came in about other bombs were "more thof a threat," said McCaul, "so that is obviously something that's being run down. I think the good news is that I do think the perpetrators here are now much more inside the bull's eye of the investigation."
Also, he pointed out that one device was found that had not been detonated, and that means there are fingerprints and DNA material to send to the FBI's base in Quantico, Virginia, for examination.
"We can get all sorts of valuable information from that device that can lead us to the perpetrator," said McCaul.
Meanwhile, the chairman said he could not comment if there was a connection between Rahami and a car with five people stopped on the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, which connects New York City's boroughs of Staten Island and Brooklyn.
As far as Ahmad Rahami is concerned, he's being called a "person of interest," McCaul said, "but he is labeled as armed and dangerous. That says a lot to me, that he is more along the lines of a suspect. We do know he is of Afghan descent."
But there is no question that the bombing in New York City was an act of terror, but the question remains about the motive.
"Was it Islamist-based terror or some other motivation to detonate these explosive devices?" McCaul said. "This is very consistent with what we have seen in the past from both al-Qaida and ISIS."
He also pointed out that the Times Square bomber [in 2010] and the Boston Marathon bombers both also used pressure cooker bombs.
"I think they have a track record here, if you will," said McCaul. "We have seen this movie before. Using pressure cookers to kill Americans. I think it's very consistent. Very likely that we're going to find at the end of the day, and now given the name that we have of the person of interest that it was Islamic based terror."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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