The New York City Police Department has started circulating the image of 28-year-old Ahmad Khan Rahami, a man authorities say is wanted in connection with Saturday's bombing in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan, the Washington Post reports.
According to the report, Rahami is a naturalized U.S. citizen of Afghan descent, and his last-known address was in New Jersey. According to the Post, law enforcement is investigating whether Rahami could have been influenced by international militant groups or the conflict in Afghanistan, although his role, if any, in the bombing is not yet clear.
Authorities already have a "number of people" in custody in connection with the bombing, and FBI agents launched an "operation" at an address on Elmoa Street in Elizabeth, N.J., where members of the Rahami family reside and work, according to court records, the Post reports.
Officials in New Jersey are also working to disarm "multiple improvised explosive devices" that were discovered at a train station in Elizabeth. Mayor J. Christian Bollwage said that up to five devices were found inside a backpack, and one of them exploded as it was being disarmed around 12:30 a.m. Monday.
“I’m not sure if the morning commute will be easy,” Bollwage said.
As the Post notes, the latest developments have deepened the concern about terrorism across the nation, heightened by the explosions in New York and New Jersey and a stabbing attack in Minnesota.
Officials said that they currently cannot identify any definitive links between the three attacks, which left 29 injured in Chelsea and nine injured at the St. Cloud, Minn., mall. However, officials are searching for links in the New York and New Jersey cases, and each case has raised the possibility of terrorist connections, the Post reports.
According to the Post, a news agency linked to the Islamic State group had referred to the Minnesota suspect, who was fatally shot by an off-duty officer, a "soldier" of the militant group. However, authorities are still looking for a motive because the Islamic State's claiming of responsibility is no guarantee that the group directed or inspired the attack. The Islamic State has not made any claim to the New York and New Jersey explosions.
Read more at the Washington Post.