Pakistani Taliban: NY bomb attempt a 'brave' act

NEW YORK (AP) - The Pakistani Taliban on Thursday denied any role in the botched car bombing in Times Square but praised the suspect for a "brave job," as New York authorities pressed him on his claims of terrorist training.

U.S. law enforcement officials traveled to Pakistan to question four alleged members of another militant group, Jaish-e-Mohammad, about possible connections to Faisal Shahzad, who is charged with terrorism and weapons offenses in the failed bombing. The incident shut down Times Square and unnerved tourists and theatergoers on a busy Saturday night.

Authorities investigating the plot are looking for a suspected money courier who they say helped finance Shahzad's plot to drive an SUV rigged with a homemade bomb into Times Square, a U.S. law enforcement official said Thursday. Investigators have the courier's name, the official told the AP. The official didn't know the amount of money involved.

In New York on Thursday, law enforcement agencies on edge from the botched plot pounced on anything suspicious. The bomb squad was called out to look at a truck with a strong odor of gasoline that was abandoned on the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge, but nothing dangerous was found inside.