Wife of New York bomber fled to Pakistan with their kid days before terror spree – as his dad reveals he warned FBI his son was a terrorist two years ago
Asia Bibi Rahimi married the Afghan-born extremist in 2011 and has two children with him
THE wife of the New York bomber is being questioned by American investigators after she tried to enter Pakistan - as it is revealed Ahmad Rahimi's father told the FBI that his son was a 'terrorist' TWO years ago.
Asia Bibi Rahimi, who married the Afghan-born extremist in 2011, was intercepted by authorities in the United Arab Emirates after leaving the US for Pakistan days with her two kids before her husband unleashed a series of bomb attacks.
She is reportedly cooperating with police.
Last month, Rahimi’s mother also left the US, flying to Turkey just a couple weeks before her son planted a pressure cooker bomb, packed with shrapnel, which injured 29 people when it exploded in Manhattan’s Chelsea district.
According to law enforcement sources, Rahami met and married his wife in 2011 while in Pakistan and has two children with her.
The bomber reportedly lobbied for this wife to join him in New Jersey when he returned to the US following their union in the Middle East.
ABC News reports that the couple were told she would have to remain in Pakistan until she had her first child.
In May 2014, she was reportedly granted a Green Card.
Rahami has another child with his high school sweetheart Maria Mena who has reportedly called him a ‘deadbeat dad who hates America.’
Mena has now reportedly petitioned for full custody of their child following his arrest on Monday after a shoot-out with police.
Rahami's father was reportedly furious at his son’s relationship with Mena and sent his son to Afghanistan.
In 2014, the bomber’s concerned dad told authorities her feared his son could be a ‘terrorist’ after a domestic dispute which led to the FBI opening up an 'assessment’ on him.
CCTV footage showed Rahami strolling down a Manhattan street dragging a bag filled with explosives.
The shocking footage shows the 28-year-old casually walking down 23rd Street in Chelsea 40 minutes before the huge blast which injured 29 people.
The extremist has been charged with five counts of attempted murder of a law enforcement officer and two gun charges following the series of bombs attacks which have terrorised New York and New Jersey since Saturday.
Police say the wheeled bag which Rahami is dragging in the footage contained the shrapnel-filled pressure-cooker bombs – similar to the deadly explosives used in the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013.
Investigators have now revealed that the note found with the second bomb, written in Arabic, referenced the Boston attack.
While Rahami is treated in hospital for injuries sustained in the gun fight with cops, his bail has been set at a whopping $5.2 million.
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The college drop-out was reportedly radicalised during a trip to Afghanistan two years ago and police are investigating whether his brother, who remains in the war torn Middle Eastern country, could be involved in the bomb attacks.
However, the FBI is confident that Rahami is not part of a wider terror cell operating within the US.
A nationwide manhunt for the “armed and dangerous” 28-year-old was launched after his fingerprints were found on an unexploded bomb in New York.
The second bomb was reportedly deactivated when thieves stole the rolling suitcase it was left in.
The naturalised American citizen was spotted sleeping rough in the doorway of a bar in Linden, New Jersey, three miles from a train station where five more bombs were found in the early hours of yesterday morning.
Rahami was apprehended when bar owner Harinder Bains recognised the bomber from the rolling news coverage and phoned the authorities.
When police officers Angel Padilla and Mark Kahana approached the suspect, he opened fire.
Hero cop Padilla was shot in the mid-section, but was saved by his bullet-proof vest, while fellow officer Peter Hammer sustained a cut to his head when a bullet went through the window of his patrol car as he arrived to back-up his colleagues.
Brave Kahana was also treated in hospital for high blood pressure.
Rahami was arrested after being shot in the shoulder by police. Pictures reveal him handcuffed with his shirt rolled up to show that he was not wearing an explosives vest.
After undergoing surgery for gunshot wounds to his right arm and leg, Rahami was last night charged with five counts of attempted murder.
Witnesses say cops took away a black duffel bag, similar to those thought to have been used to plant two bombs in New York on Saturday.
Tosha Hardrick, 32, said: “I heard four gunshots. All hell just broke loose. I later saw an officer handling a black bag very carefully.”
Investigators said they had “no indication” that Rahami was part of a larger terror cell.
Last night it emerged he was radicalised during a trip to Afghanistan.
Pal Flee Jones, 27, said: “Two years ago he popped up and he was religious. And it was shocking.”
The stocky radical, who studied criminal justice for two years, is thought to have planted at least ten devices in just three days.
FBI agents stormed the Rahami family’s apartment in Elizabeth, New Jersey, above their First American Fried Chicken takeaway.
Neighbours said the secretive clan had starting wearing Islamic clothing.
One said: “Up until recently they wore regular clothes, then they started dressing in their culture’s clothes.”
Cops also established a link to a charity run bombing in Seaside Park, New Jersey, at 9.30am on Saturday.
Three pipe bombs wired together were found in a bin along the route. Only one exploded but no-one was hurt as the race was delayed.
On Sunday night cops are said to have found weapons and bomb-making gear in a car in Brooklyn. Five men seized, believed to be from the same family, were later released.
Just hours later two men stumbled across five pipe bombs in a backpack on a bin at a station in Elizabeth.
One exploded after a bomb disposal robot accidentally cut the wrong wire. No-one was injured.
Rahami, his father Muhammed, 53, and two brothers unsuccessfully sued the city in 2011 for religious persecution after officials said their takeaway had to close early due to complaints.
Cops also released pics of Rahami with shaved head, stubble and beard.
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