Ahmad Khan Rahami, charged with NYC Bombing

Sep 20, 2016 | International News, News

New York Police arrested Ahmad Khan Rahami, in relation to the NYC AND NJ bombs this weekend. (Reuters)

New York Police arrested Ahmad Khan Rahami, in relation to the NYC AND NJ bombs this weekend.
(Reuters)

By:Chris Besik

Ahmad Khan Rahami, the 28-year-old Afghan born US citizen behind Saturday’s NYC bombing, became more religious after a trip to his country of origin says U.S .media.

“Most perpetrators in recent attacks have been residents or even citizens of the country they are targeting,” said Sarah Lyons-Padilla a research scientist at Stanford.

The bombings in New York and New Jersey left 29 people injured.

Police discovered two bombs over the weekend. The first was detonated injuring nearby civilians, located on West 23rd Street. The second bomb was discovered at a different location a couple blocks away. The location at West 27th Street, the device was a pressure cooker bomb.

Police used a robot to place the bomb a “total containment vessel,” which is a chamber designed to contain bombs and other explosive materials.

“Our own research shows that Muslim Americans who feel discriminated against and culturally homeless experience a lack of meaning in their life, which is associated with greater support for fundamentalist groups and extreme ideologies,” said Padilla

He was identified  Monday morning resting in the vestibule of a bar in New Jersey. Harinder Bains, owner of the bar, identified Rahami as he slept siting down huddled with his hood over his face.

He was arrested later that day after an ensuing manhunt that ended in a shootout with Police.  One officer was shot in the chest; another was grazed in the face by a bullet. Rahami was also shot multiple times.

Rahami had travelled to Pakistan and Afghanistan a few times in the last few years and began to show signs of radicalization.

The recent attacks in the USA, Europe and Canada are reminders of the radicalization and danger of westerners.

“They experience a lack of meaning in their life, which is associated with greater support for fundamentalist groups and extreme ideologies,” said Padilla.

On the same Saturday an attack in a Minnesota shopping mall which saw 9 people stabbed. This attack was claimed by an ISIS media outlet who said the suspect Dahir Adan, 22, was a soldier of their organization.

“A common myth is that terrorists are inherently bad or psychologically unstable people. But researchers have not been able to identify any kind of a terrorist profile,” Said Padilla “meaning there isn’t a set of personality characteristics or psychological disorders that predicts who will become a terrorist.”

We also experienced a foiled attack closer to home. On Aug. 11 in Strathroy Ont. Aaron Driver, 24, an Islamic State sympathizer who was known to RCMP attempted to carry out a bombing in a public area. The RCMP received a tip from the FBI and intercepted him. Local residence said they heard gunshots and an explosion during the police operation.