NEW YORK: An explosion rocked Manhattan’s Chelsea neighbourhood on Saturday, leaving at least 29 people injured.

The blast, which seriously injured at least one person, took place on the West 23rd Street in an area frequented by shoppers and diners.

Official sources said the explosion occurred in a dumpster, and the New York Police Counterterrorism Bureau tweeted photograph of a mangled dumpster after saying it was responding to the blast.

The bomb squad of the New York Police Department was searching the area for other explosive devices. The FBI and Homeland Security officials were also at the scene.

A possible secondary device was located a few blocks away on the 27th Street, between 6th Avenue and 7th Avenue. The device, a pressure cooker, was removed by the authorities.

It was in a white plastic bag also containing tape, wiring and a mobile phone or other electronic device. There were other suspicious packages in the area as well, but they were deemed not to be dangerous, police said.

Governor terms it terrorist attack

AFP adds: “A bomb exploding in New York is obviously an act of terrorism, but it’s not linked to international terrorism,” New York Governor Andrew Cuomo told reporters as he visited the crime scene.

“In other words, we find no ISIS connection, etcetera,” said Cuomo in reference to the militant Islamic State (IS) group.

New York police chief James O’Neill said no individual or group had yet claimed responsibility.

He said he could not say with “100 per cent degree of certainty” where the blast originated. US media reported that it took place in a dumpster on 23rd Street where major construction work is taking place.

A hot line has been set up for tips. Police have a video of the bombing and were searching for anyone seen in the area before the explosion.

“We know it’s a very serious incident, but we have a lot more work to do to be able to say what kind of motivation was behind this,” Mayor Bill de Blasio told reporters.

“Was it a political motivation, a personal motivation. What was it? We do not know that yet,” he added, calling on residents to be vigilant.

FBI official William Sweeney said: “We will look at everything. We’ll look at social networks, at all the incoming tips and leads.

“Everything that comes in gets a look. We don’t discard anything.”

New York will see a stepped up security presence, with an additional 1,000 state police and National Guard deployed to airports, bus terminals and subway stations, officials said.

The explosion caused “significant” damage, shattering glass and shrapnel across the street, but there is no structural damage to any buildings.

While the two devices planted in Manhattan appear to be similar, they seem to be different than a pipe bomb that exploded in the neighbouring state of New Jersey on Saturday causing no injuries, officials said.

Of the 29 people who sustained injuries in New York, 24 were taken to hospital with various degrees of scrapes and abrasions from glass and metal.

All have since been released, officials confirmed on Sunday.

New York lauds itself as the safest big city in America. Violent crime is rare in Manhattan and police say they have foiled 20 terror plots since the 2001 Al Qaeda hijackings destroyed the Twin Towers.

Published in Dawn September 19th, 2016