Alleged Times Square bomber expected to enter plea

The suspected Times Square bomber is expected to enter a plea Monday as he faces his second appearance in court charged with attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction and terrorism.

The hearing for 30-year-old Pakistani-American Faisal Shahzad, initially scheduled for 1600 GMT, was delayed at the request of both parties until 2030 GMT for undisclosed reasons.

Shahzad was pulled off a flight to Dubai on May 3, two days after he allegedly parked a car packed with a rudimentary explosive device in New York's busy Broadway entertainment district.

The attempted bombing on a busy Saturday night outside a theater showing "The Lion King" was foiled when street vendors spotted smoke emanating from the back of a Nissan Pathfinder and alerted the authorities.

A 53-hour manhunt ensued, ending with Shahzad's arrest as his plane was about to taxi for take-off from John F. Kennedy Airport to Dubai.

Shahzad has cooperated fully in custody, waiving Miranda rights that protect detainees from incriminating themselves, US justice officials say.

A 10-count indictment handed down Thursday by a federal grand jury linked the plot to the Pakistani Taliban, saying Shahzad had received explosives training in Waziristan, a Taliban and Al-Qaeda stronghold on the Afghan border.

"After his arrest, Shahzad admitted that he had recently received bomb-making training in Pakistan. He also admitted that he had brought the Pathfinder to Times Square and attempted to detonate it," it said.

Shahzad bought a semi-automatic nine millimeter Kel-Tec rifle in March and the Nissan Pathfinder, for which he paid 1,300 dollars cash, in a supermarket parking lot, on April 24, it alleged.

He then bought components for "improvised explosive and incendiary devices," loaded them in the Pathfinder, and on May 1 drove the sport utility vehicle to Times Square, the complaint said.

Shahzad faces charges included attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction, attempted act of terrorism transcending national boundaries, attempted use of a destructive device in a terrorist conspiracy and other conspiracy, explosives and weapons related charges.

A naturalized American who spent much of the last decade in the United States and is the son of a retired Pakistani air force officer, Shahzad faces life in prison if found guilty.

He grew up in Pakistan in a respected middle-class family of four children and went to an elite Pakistan Air Force college before coming to the United States to study.

The attempted attack left residents, visitors and authorities in Times Square jittery, with several "suspicious packages" that later turned out to be harmless sparking false alarms.

US aviation officials also changed security regulations, shortening the amount of time for airlines to check updated "no-fly" lists, after Shahzad was able to board his flight despite having been added to the list.