[EARLIER UPDATES IN EXTENDED ARICLE]

8:00PM EST: A terror suspect accused of plotting to bomb NYPD patrol cars and postal facilities who also wanted to target U.S. soldiers returning home from overseas has been arrested, officials said.

Mayor Bloomberg, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly and Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. announced the arrest of Jose Pimentel, 27, Sunday evening at City Hall.

Bloomberg said Pimentel, of Washington Heights, was “inspired by al-Qaida propaganda” but not part of any larger group and was not believed to be working with others.

Law enforcement officials had been watching Pimentel, who has also lived in Schenectady, N.Y., since 2009. Officials said Pimentel had recently obtained explosive material to make pipe bombs.

Vance said Pimentel was a reader of the al-Qaida magazine Inspire, and had learned how to make bombs from the publication.

According to the criminal complaint, Pimentel told police in a video statement after his arrest that he had been about one hour away from completing a test bomb when he was arrested Saturday.

“We thought it best to act quickly yesterday and take him into custody,” Kelly said.

Pimentel allegedly confessed to building bombs and wanting to wage war against the United States, including aspirations to assassinate politicians and government workers, the complaint said.

It was not immediately clear whether Pimentel had an attorney.

Officials said he had recently gone through a divorce and sources said he now lives with his mother.

The charges include first-degree criminal possession of a weapon as a crime of terrorism and fourth-degree conspiracy as a crime of terrorism.

UPDATE 8:30PM EST: The following are Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s remarks as delivered at City Hall tonight:

“Good evening. I’mjoined by Police Commissioner Ray Kelly and Manhattan District Attorney CyrusVance.

“Yesterday afternoon, NewYork City police officers arrested a 27-year-old Al Qaeda sympathizer who wasplotting to bomb police patrol cars and also postal facilities, as well astarget members of our Armed Forces returning from abroad.

“Jose Pimentel of WashingtonHeights, which is in the northern end of Manhattan, faces terrorism-relatedcharges that District Attorney Vance will discuss in a moment.

“Earlier today, I alsodescribed this case to U.S. Congressman Pete King, the chair of the HouseCommittee on Homeland Security, who has long been a champion of Federal supportfor the NYPD’s counter-terrorism efforts.

‘The NYPD IntelligenceDivision did outstanding work in tracking this individual and containing thethreat he posed to the city. The police also constructed a duplicate of anexplosive device that the suspect built, and then detonated it in a way that heintended to use his weapon. We wanted to show you a video about theresulting damage.

[Break for video]

“I should point out that ourstaff briefed the Governor’s staff on this earlier this evening, andI’ve asked Commissioner Kelly to discuss this case in greater detail. Butfirst, let me make these observations.

“The suspect was a so-calledlone wolf, motivated by his own resentment of the presence of American troopsin Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as inspired by Al Qaeda propaganda. He was notpart of a larger conspiracy emanating from abroad. He represents exactly thekind of threat FBI Director Robert Mueller and his experts have warned about,as American military and intelligence agencies have eroded Al Qaeda’s abilityto launch large-scale attacks.

“This case is alsoreminiscent of another lone wolf plot in 2004 in which two New Yorkers angryover the treatment of prisoners in Iraq plotted to bomb the Herald Squaresubway station. Like the current case, the Herald Square plot was uncovered bythe NYPD Intelligence Division.

“And as with still anothercase earlier this year in which a lone wolf plotted to attack a largesynagogue, the NYPD teamed-up with the Manhattan District Attorney’s office toprosecute Pimentel under State terrorism-related statutes.

“Whether launched by lonewolves, Al Qaeda, or Al Qaeda affiliates, there have been at least 13 previousterrorist plots since 9/11 targeting New York City. This would be the fourteenth.

“Because of such repeatedthreats, the NYPD remains focused on preventing another terroristattack. We assign a thousand officers to counter-terrorism duties everysingle day. This is just another case where our precautions paid off.

“Now let me ask CommissionerKelly to provide details.”

6:15PM EST: City officials are set to make a terror-related announcement Sunday evening at City Hall, a source said.

Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly, Mayor Bloomberg and Manhattan DA Cyrus Vance are set to be present at the 7:30 presentation.

The details of the announcement were not immediately clear.

Check back with YWN as we update this story as information becomes available to us.

UPDATE 6:40PM EST: (NY TIMES) The authorities have arrested a man who law enforcement officials believe was planning to build and detonate a bomb in New York with government workers as the target, a person briefed on the case said on Sunday.

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly of the New York Police Department, and Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr. were expected to announce the charges against the man at 7:30 p.m. at a news conference at City Hall.

The man was arrested within the last 24 hours.

The defendant in the case – whose identity could not be learned – had bought bomb-making materials and “began to build them,” said the person briefed on the case, who added that the Police Department had had the man under surveillance for about a year.

One law enforcement official described the case as a “lone wolf scenario.”

UPDATE 6:50PM EST: (NY POST) The NYPD and Manhattan DA’s office have arrested a terror suspect who was planning to bomb city police facilities and US military sites, where he plotted to target returning war personnel and the families who gathered to welcome them home, The Post has learned.

The suspect, who lives in Manhattan, was arrested after he actually purchased bomb-making materials, sources said. He’d been on the authorities’ radar for about a year, the sources said.

It wasn’t immediately clear exactly where he planned to attack.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)