Two IEDs thrown during protest in New York, two suspects face WMD charges

Two IEDs thrown during protests outside New York mayor Zohran Mamdani's home on Saturday, 7 March, are being investigated as an act of "ISIS-inspired terrorism", New York police have said.

Emir Balat, 18, and Ibrahim Kayumi, 19, face charges of providing material support to a terrorist organisation, using a weapon of mass destruction, transportation of explosive materials, unlawful possession of destructive devices, and interstate transportation and receipt of explosives, according to a criminal complaint filed in federal court.

The two devices thrown did not explode, while a third suspicious device found by police tested negative for explosive material, said the city's police commissioner, Jessica Tisch.

In a post on X on 8 March, Tisch wrote: "The New York Police Department [NYPD] bomb squad has conducted a preliminary analysis of a device that was ignited and deployed at a protest yesterday and has determined that it is not a hoax device or a smoke bomb. It is, in fact, an improvised explosive device that could have caused serious injury or death."

At least one of the devices contained triacetone triperoxide - also known as TATP - a dangerous and highly volatile homemade explosive.

Tisch continued: "Emir Balat and Ibrahim Kayumi were arrested on scene yesterday and are in custody in connection with this matter. The NYPD is working on this investigation with our partners at the US Attorney’s Office for the southern district of New York and the FBI through our Joint Terrorism Task Force."

Investigators also found another suspicious package in a car a few streets from the mayor's Gracie Mansion in Manhattan's East End Avenue later the next day, and a Honda Civic car was towed away. Sky News reports that police have been searching two locations in northeastern Pennsylvania in relation to the two suspects.

The homemade devices were thrown during an anti-Muslim demonstration led by the far-right activist Jake Lang, which also attracted a larger group of counter-protesters.