Bomb explosion injures 29, man stabs eight in US

  No fewer than 29 persons were injured in a bomb blast which occurred in the neighbourhood of Chelsea in Manhattan in New York, United States.

The bomb explosion occurred around 1am on Sunday outside a residence for blind people on West 23rd Street, Chelsea.

According to the Sky News, the New York State authorities have deployed about 1,000 state policemen and national guard troops, vowing to apprehend the perpetrators of the bomb attack.

Although officials have described the act as a terrorist attack, there is no evidence yet to connect it to international terrorism.

Hours earlier, a bomb blast had rocked a New Jersey charity, run in aid of US Marines and sailors. Witnesses said the blast, at about 8.30pm on Saturday, blew out the windows of buildings and sent debris flying across the area.

The BBC reports that all 29 injured victims had been discharged from the hospital.

The police have started combing the area with sniffer dogs, following the blast in Chelsea, as a second suspected device, which failed to detonate, has been recovered.

The New York Governor, Andrew Cuomo, said the policemen would be placed at bus and subway stations as well as airports as a precaution.

He vowed that whoever planted the devices would be found and brought to justice but added there was “no reason to believe there is any further immediate threat.”

Cuomo said the explosion caused significant damage to nearby properties but said “we were very lucky there were no fatalities.”

Initial investigations suggest that the Chelsea explosion, described as “deafening,” occurred inside a large bin or a construction toolbox.

Pictures from the scene showed a twisted and crumpled black metal box.

The second device – a pressure cooker connected to a mobile phone with wires attached – had been placed in a plastic bag inside a bin.

According to the CNN, a piece of paper with writing on it was also found next to it. It was later removed by bomb disposal teams using a remote-controlled robot.

Following the explosion, Facebook activated its safety check service that lets users notify friends and family that they are safe.

It was the first time it had been used in New York.

A Joint Terrorism Task Force, made up of different law enforcement agencies, has been called in to investigate, indicating the authorities have not ruled out the possibility of a terror link.

Surveillance video from businesses in the area will be examined by investigators hunting for clues to the explosion.

According to a White House official, President Barack Obama has been briefed on the situation, and the two presidential candidates have also responded to the explosion.

Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton, said the nation needed to support its emergency workers and “pray for the victims.”

She added, “We have to let this investigation unfold.”

However, her Republican rival, Donald Trump, was more forthright, saying, “I must tell you that just before I got off the plane, a bomb went off in New York, and nobody knows what’s going on. But boy, we are living in a time – we better get very tough, folks.

“We better get very, very tough. It’s a terrible thing that’s going on in our world, in our country and we are going to get tough and smart and vigilant.”

Meanwhile, no fewer than eight people have been injured in a stabbing attack at a shopping mall in the US state of Minnesota, before the suspected attacker was shot dead by police.

According to the BBC, the attack happened in St. Cloud, 110km north-west of Minneapolis.

The suspected attacker reportedly made references to Allah before he was killed.

The Islamic State said he was one of their “soldiers.”

None of the injuries suffered by the victims was life-threatening, the local police said.

An off-duty police officer from another jurisdiction shot and killed the suspect, said St. Cloud Police Chief, Blair Anderson.

The suspect, who has not been identified, was said to have been wearing the uniform of a private security firm when the attack occurred.

The attacker asked at least one person if they were Muslim, Mr. Anderson said, adding that police “will be diligent and get to the bottom of this.”

He said police have no evidence to believe more than one person was involved in the attack.

The media arm of IS said in a statement that the attacker had carried out the operation “in response to calls to target the citizens of countries belonging to the crusader coalition.”

An FBI official says investigators are viewing the attack at Minnesota as a possible act of terrorism.

The FBI Special Agent-in-Charge, Rick Thornton, said on Sunday that authorities were digging into the suspect’s background to determine his possible motivation for Saturday night’s attack at the Crossroads Center mall in St. Cloud.

St. Cloud’s mayor and police chief praised the swift action of an off-duty, part-time Avon police officer for shooting and killing the attacker. They identified him as Officer Jason Falconer.

PUBLISHED BY OGUNLEYE PELUMI