Pak-origin man arrested in failed NY bomb plot

A Pakistan-born US citizen was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) as he was about to flee on board a plane to Dubai after a failed Times Square bombing attempt and the Attorney General said that the probe was focusing on 'overseas' terrorist groups.

Faisal Shahzad, 30, a naturalised US citizen and resident of Connecticut was taken into custody from the JFK Airport as he attempted to board a flight to Dubai, Attorney General Eric Holder said.

"The plot was designed to kill Americans," Holder told newsmen as he announced the arrest of the main suspect.

Police said Shahzad was charged with driving a bomb laden SUV into the Times Square and parking it on a street lined with restaurants and New York's famous Broadway theatres. He is to appear in court later today.

They said, Shahzad had recently returned from a five month trip to Pakistan and the city of Peshawar, from where new recruits of al-Qaeda and Taliban peel off to training camps in tribal areas.

Though Holder said Shahzad was picked up from the flight, CNN reported that the suspect was on a plane with a likely final destination of Pakistan.

Emirate Airlines spokesman in Dubai said, their flight had been called back and three passengers offloaded by the authorities from the New York-Dubai flight.

Initially police and New York mayor Michael Bloomberg had ruled out any international terror group hand in the plot in which a Nissan Pathfinder filled with explosives was parked on the Broadway.