More Explosives Found In Storage Unit Linked To NYC Terror Suspects

Additional explosives were reportedly found in a storage unit that was searched in connection with the terror suspects who threw improvised explosive devices (IEDs) at a group of protesters outside New York City’s Gracie Mansion on Saturday.

FBI agents searched the storage unit in Middletown Township, Pennsylvania, on Monday as part of the ongoing investigation, and local authorities shared information about what had been discovered in a Tuesday Facebook post.

“Update Regarding Overnight Activity at Local Storage Facility,” the Middletown Township Police Department titled the post, adding, “Last night, residents in the area of the storage facility on S. Flowers Mill Road may have heard several loud bangs during the overnight hours.”

“As part of the ongoing federal investigation that took place yesterday, the FBI safely disposed of explosive materials that were recovered during the execution of search warrants. These controlled detonations were conducted by trained personnel and were carried out in a controlled manner,” the post continued. “While the noise may have been startling to some residents, there was no danger to the public at any time. The operation at the storage facility has now concluded and the location has returned to normal operations. We appreciate the community’s patience and understanding while federal authorities conducted this investigation.”

Middletown Township, a suburb that sits just northwest of Philadelphia, is located in Bucks County — the same general area from which bombing suspects Emir Balat, 18, and Ibrahim Kayumi, 19, had come.

The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force has taken over the investigation after both suspects pledged allegiance to and claimed they’d gotten their inspiration from the Islamic State. According to authorities, Balat also told law enforcement that he’d intended to inflict more damage than the Boston Marathon bombers, lamenting the fact that they had only killed three people.

The type of explosives used in the bombs recovered on the scene in New York City, Triacetone Triperoxide (TATP), is favored in terrorist circles and has been nicknamed “Mother of Satan.” Reports have not indicated whether the explosives detonated by the FBI at the Pennsylvania storage unit were the same type.

New York City has been at the center of several scares in recent days, with law enforcement blocking off part of the Upper East Side on Sunday when a suspicious device was found in a vehicle near where the suspects had first attacked.

On Monday, Attorney General Pam Bondi announced charges against Balat and Kayumi, whom she called “the two alleged ISIS-inspired terrorists,” adding, “We will not allow ISIS’s poisonous, anti-American ideology to threaten this nation.”