Islam convert 'was hour away from finishing DIY pipe bomb'

A "lone wolf" terrorist was within an hour of finishing and testing his home-made bomb when police in New York raided his home, US authorities said today.

Jose Pimentel, 27, had learned how to make the pipe bomb on the internet, using alarm clocks, nails and Christmas fairy lights.

"We had to act quickly because he was in fact putting this bomb together," said New York police commissioner Ray Kelly.

He appeared in court in New York accused of plotting to blow up police and US troops returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Islam convert, from Manhattan, was said to be considering changing his name to Osama Hussein because he was so obsessed with Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein.

According to Commissioner Kelly he was planning to use the bombs on soldiers returning from deployment, police cars, a police station and post offices around the city.

"The suspect was a so-called lone wolf, motivated by his own resentment of the presence of American troops in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as inspired by al Qaeda propaganda," said New York mayor Michael Bloomberg.

Dominican-born Pimentel smiled in court last night as he was ordered to be held without bail until his next appearance on Friday. He was charged with conspiracy, first-degree criminal possession of a weapon as a crime of terrorism and soliciting support for a terrorist act. It was the 14th plot against New York that the authorities have thwarted since the 9/11 terror attacks.

Despite working alone, Pimentel allegedly got closer than most to carrying his out. However, he was being watched by the security services as he apparently assembled the material to build his bombs from a DIY superstore and a "99-cent" store.

Pimentel had gone from talking about his support for al Qaeda to considering travelling to Yemen to train as a terrorist, police said. He had reportedly been known to detectives for about two years but was allowed to stay free in case he unwittingly led officers to terrorist leaders.

The catalyst for Pimentel finishing his bomb was said to be the September killing by US forces of American-born cleric Anwar Awlaki, a prominent al Qaeda leader. Pimentel maintained his own website, where he encouraged violence against America and posted information about bomb-making. But Pimentel's lawyer, Joseph Zablocki, said that the postings by his client showed he was not trying to hide anything. "I don't believe that this case is nearly as strong as the people believe," he said, adding: "Mr Pimentel has this very public online profile. This is not the way you go about committing a terrorist attack."