New York police announced that a man of Afghan origin called Ahmed Khan Rahami, 28, who was sought for his involvement in a blast in the Chelsea neighbourhood of Manhattan in New York, was arrested yesterday. US television channels reported that the Afghan-American, who was wanted in connection with the New York and New Jersey bombings, was arrested yesterday after a gun battle with police.

The news network CNN showed photographs of him being carried on a stretcher to an ambulance after he was injured in the clash. Ahmad Khan Rahami was seen with a bandage on his right arm and his body was covered with a blanket. His head was moving and his eyes were open whilst he was taken to an ambulance in Linden, New Jersey. Members of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) also found explosives that had been planted at a train station and deactivated them.

Rahami is wanted in connection with the bombing that took place in the neighbourhood of Chelsea in New York on Saturday that resulted in 29 people being injured, and another bomb in New Jersey that did not cause injury, but led to the cancellation of the New Jersey charity run.

His arrest came after the FBI published a picture of him and said that he was “armed and dangerous” in a text message that was sent to millions of people in the New York area. Peter Donald, a spokesman for the New York Police Department (NYPD) said that the investigations indicate that Rahami, a US citizen of Afghan origin, was involved in the attacks. The mayor of New York also warned that Rahami was armed and dangerous.

The mayor of New York Bill de Blasio said yesterday afternoon that he expected new developments to occur throughout the day and that new facts would come to light. Five suspects were also arrested and security surrounding UN buildings and the streets around them was intensified.

The governor of New York state Andrew Cuomo said the bombs that were found during the last two days were made in a similar manner, suggesting that there was a possible common link. He also explained that the investigation is still underway and added that he “would not be surprised if” there was “a foreign connection to the act.”

Officials pointed out that investigations into the bombings in New York and New Jersey have led authorities to believe that there might be a terrorist cell in both states.