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Ahmad Rahami charged over New York and New Jersey bombs

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'I cried all day' over US bomb blasts - New Jersey reacts

The US has charged Ahmad Khan Rahami with planting bombs in New York and New Jersey, in court documents that shed more light on his alleged motivations.

The federal charges include use of a weapon of mass destruction, bombing and use of a destructive device.

The 28-year-old allegedly bought bomb-making equipment on eBay and was filmed by a relative lighting "incendiary material" in a bin.

Mr Rahami remains in hospital with gunshot wounds from a police shootout.

The Afghan-born US citizen was already charged by the state of New Jersey with the attempted murder of police, stemming from his arrest on Monday outside a bar in Linden, New Jersey.

The FBI complaint reveals that 31 people - two more than previously reported - were injured when a bomb went off in the Chelsea neighbourhood of Manhattan on Saturday.

Unsealed on Tuesday in a Manhattan federal court, the document says an unnamed Briton was among the casualties.

The victims included a woman who "had to have multiple ball bearings removed from her body, as well as metal fragmentation from her ear and wood shards from her neck".

The FBI said Mr Rahami was also found with a notebook containing such writings as, "my heart I pray to the beautiful wise ALLAH. To not take jihad away from."

Another passage in the journal allegedly said: "You [USA Government] continue your [unintelligible] slaught[er]" against the mujahideen, or holy warriors, be it Afghanistan, Iraq, Sham (Syria), Palestine."

Yet another refers in glowing terms to Osama Bin Laden; Anwar al-Awlaki, a US-born Muslim cleric killed in a 2011 drone strike; and Nidal Hasan, a former Army officer who killed 13 people at a Texas Army base in 2009.

Image source, Getty Images
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Security was ramped up across New York

Mr Rahami - who worked at a family-owned fried chicken shop in his hometown of Elizabeth - was preparing for months for the attack, the court documents suggest.

He bought citric acid, a circuit board and electric igniters for fireworks from eBay, according to the complaint.

The FBI said they had recovered video from a mobile phone belonging to one of Mr Rahami's relatives.

Allegedly filmed at or near the family home two days before the blasts, it showed the suspect igniting incendiary material in a cylindrical container.

As the object bursts into flames, laughter is heard on the footage.

Media caption,

Footage from WABC shows the suspect being loaded into an ambulance

US media are reporting that Mr Rahami's wife - who is thought to be a Pakistani national - is being questioned in the United Arab Emirates.

The terror charges come after the FBI admitted they investigated Mr Rahami for terrorism in 2014.

This followed a complaint from the suspect's father, but they found no link despite alleged acts of violence.

Investigators say Mr Rahami planted two bombs in Chelsea but one failed to detonate.

Another bomb exploded in a New Jersey seaside town earlier on the same day but no-one was hurt.

He is also accused of leaving explosives in a discarded rucksack in a rubbish bin in Elizabeth, New Jersey.

The series of bombings over the weekend have sparked a heated debate about national security between the two presidential candidates, days before their first televised debate.