U.S. airlines called as Times Square suspect sought

This undated image, obtained from orkut.com on May 4, 2010, shows Faisal Shahzad, the Pakistani-American who is suspected as the driver of a bomb-laden SUV into New York's Time Square on May 1.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Homeland Security telephoned a handful of airlines to notify them that the suspected Times Square bomber had been added to the "no fly" list, U.S. officials said on Tuesday.

The suspect, Faisal Shahzad, was added on May 3 to the list banning him from flights and airlines were sent a special electronic alert. Only the top five U.S. carriers received a follow-up phone call, the officials said.

One Obama administration official had said the FBI had asked that the DHS limit its calls to the top U.S. airlines to avoid further media leaks and tipping off the suspect. But an FBI official disputed that statement and said their agents urged DHS to telephone airlines.

The fast-paced pursuit of Shahzad ended later that night when Customs and Border Protection agents found him aboard an Emirates Airlines flight shortly before it was due to take off for Dubai from New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport.

The FBI and administration officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, declined to detail why Emirates was not contacted.

"We do not discuss specific operations or investigative techniques," said FBI spokesman Richard Kolko. A Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman also declined to comment.

Shahzad has admitted to investigators that he drove a crude car bomb into New York's busy Times Square on May 1 and tried to set it off, according to the criminal complaint filed against him in federal court. The bomb failed to explode.

Attorney General Eric Holder acknowledged on Sunday that the law enforcement had lost track of Shahzad for a period of time before he was caught at the airport. He said they had tried to maintain some distance from Shahzad to see if he had co-conspirators.

Before the incident, the Transportation Security Administration gave airlines 24 hours to add new names for the "no fly" list to their computer systems. After discovering that Shahzad was able to board the flight, it ordered airlines to add names within two hours of receiving special alerts.

Holder said the United States had evidence that a Pakistani Taliban group allied with al Qaeda was behind the attempted bombing. Shahzad, 30, a naturalized American of Pakistani origin, has been charged with five counts including trying to kill and maim people within the United States.

(Reporting by Jeremy Pelofsky in Washington and Peter Henderson in Oakland; editing by Mohammad Zargham and Cynthia Osterman)