Mother, Brother of NYC Bombing Suspect Detained in Afghanistan - Reports

The mother and a brother of suspected New York-area bomber Ahmad Rahami have been detained in Afghanistan, US media reported on Wednesday, citing Rahami’s father.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Mohammad Rahami told ABC News that his wife and one of his other sons were stopped in the United Arab Emirates on their trip home to the United States from Afghanistan and subsequently sent back to Kabul.

The elder Rahami insisted that no one in his family had any connection to a series of bombings in New York City and New Jersey earlier this month, adding that he has not spoken with Ahmad Rahami since May.

If law enforcement authorities want to question his wife and son, Najiba and Qassim Rahami, they should do so in the United States because both are US citizens, Mohammad Rahami said.

On September 20, federal prosecutors filed terrorism and weapons charges against Ahmad Rahami in connection with three bombings in New York City and New Jersey over the previous weekend.

One bomb exploded in Seaside Park, New Jersey and another in New York City’s Chelsea neighborhood. No one was hurt in Seaside Park, but the Chelsea blast injured 31 people. A day later, a police robot accidentally detonated a third device, in Elizabeth, New Jersey.

According to prosecutors’ court filings, Rahami bought bomb parts on auction website eBay. An investigation of social media accounts used by the suspect revealed that he posted videos praising jihad, prosecutors assert.

On Tuesday, Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey told a US Senate committee that there so far is no indication Ahmed Rahami is part of a terror cell.