The New York City bomb suspects were radicalized by the Islamic State and recently returned from visits to the Middle East, it has emerged.
Ibrahim Kayumi, 19, and Emir Balat, 18, were arrested Saturday after a homemade ‘Mother of Satan’ bomb was thrown outside Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s house during an anti-Islam protest.
The teens made pro-ISIS statements while in police custody and admitted to watching terror propaganda videos, federal law enforcement sources told Fox News Correspondent CB Cotton.
Investigators are understood to be looking into the pair’s overseas travel history to Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and other known ‘terror training grounds,’ the sources said.
FBI agents raided the family homes of both men, who reside more than 100 miles away in the wealthy suburbs of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Footage shared by WCAU shows at least 10 agents storming the $2.2 million home in Newtown where Kayumi lived on Sunday. One man was detained at the residence.
Two men and a woman were taken into custody at the $653,000 home in Langhorne where Balat lived, WPVI reported.
Charges against Kayumi and Balat are still pending, but a ‘terror investigation’ is underway. Prosecutors expect the federal indictment to be made public Monday.
Emir Balat hands Ibrahim Kayumi a homemade explosive device during a protest organized by far-right influencer Jake Lang against alleged ‘Islamification’ and to ask for a ‘stop of public Muslim prayer’ in New York in front of Gracie Mansion on Saturday
NYC bomb suspect Emir Balat, pictured during his arrest Saturday, was radicalized by the Islamic State and recently returned from a trip to Turkey
Ibrahim Kayumi, who is also understood to have been radicalized by ISIS, was in Istanbul for multiple weeks in July and August 2024. He also went to Saudi Arabia in March that same year. Kayumi is pictured during his arrest in NYC on Saturday
At least 10 federal agents stormed the $2.2 million home in Newtown where Kayumi lived on Sunday. One man was detained at the property
FBI Evidence Response Team agents collected evidence and executed a search warrant at a home associated with 18-year-old terror suspect, Emir Balat in Langhorne, Pennsylvania
Kayumi and Balat are accused of handling and deploying two improvised explosive devices (IEDs) on Saturday during the protest outside Gracie Mansion led by far-right influencer Jake Lang.
Balat allegedly lit and dropped an explosive near police around 12.30pm. The device extinguished itself steps from the officers.
He then secured a second device from Kayumi and dropped it on the west side of East End Avenue between East 86th and 87th streets. This device did not appear to ignite.
Mamdani and NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch on Sunday confirmed the devices were real and could have been fatal if they had gone off.
The IEDs consisted of a sports drink bottle that was filled with triacetone triperoxide (TATP), a volatile explosive material, sources told CBS News.
It was set inside a glass jar that was wrapped in tape and surrounded by nuts, bolts, screws and a hobby fuse that was reportedly connected to an M80-type firework.
A third device was found in a vehicle on East End Avenue, about three blocks south of Gracie Mansion, on Sunday.
Several streets were closed and ‘limited evacuations of buildings’ were ordered as the bomb squad assessed and worked to safely remove the device.
Around 7pm, police used a flatbed truck to remove a Honda Civic and the streets were reopened. The device will undergo further testing, authorities said.
Emir Balat, 18, is pictured allegedly lighting and dropping an explosive at a counter-protest against an anti-Muslim demonstration organized by far-right influencer Jake Lang
Balat is pictured fleeing after dropping the improvised explosive near police officers. Police initially were unsure if the device was an imitation or a real bomb
Tisch described the pictured bomb as an ‘improvised explosive device’ that could have caused serious injury or been fatal if it had gone off
FBI agents collect evidence as a vehicle reportedly tied to terror-related Gracie Mansion protests is towed away after processing and examination in the area of East End Avenue and East 81st Street in Manhattan on Sunday. A third IED was reportedly found in the car
Jake Lang shouts from a sidewalk as New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks during a news conference at Gracie Mansion on Monday
Balat’s parents were born in Turkey and reportedly became naturalized US citizens in 2017. The 18-year-old is a US citizen and neighbors confirmed he lives with his family in their massive home.
He is understood to have travel to Turkey multiple times in the past year, with his most recent trip having occurred in January. Balat also visited the county from May 6 to August 26 last year.
Kayumi’s parents are from Afghanistan and became naturalized US citizens in 2004 and 2009. His last known address is at a residence shared with his parents, although it is unclear if he was living at the home at the time of alleged bomb incidents.
Kayumi was in Istanbul for multiple weeks in July and August 2024. He also went to Saudi Arabia in March that same year.
Tensions between the two protesting groups on Saturday escalated around 12.15pm after a seemingly peaceful start to the day.
An individual from Lang’s protest named Ian McGinnis, 21, allegedly used pepper spray against the liberal counter protesters and was arrested before the teens allegedly attempted to set off explosives, police said.
Shortly after the protest, Tisch said: ‘Witnesses reported seeing flames and smoke as [the explosive] travelled through the air before it struck a barrier a few feet from police officers.’
Three others, who have not been identified, were also arrested over alleged disorderly conduct and traffic obstruction.
Mamdani and his wife, Rama Duwaji, were not believed to be at home at the time, and no injuries were reported.
Kayumi’s parents are from Afghanistan and became naturalized US citizens in 2004 and 2009. His last known address was this $2.2 million home in Newton, Pennsylvania
Balat’s parents were born in Turkey and became naturalized US citizens in 2017. The 18-year-old is a US citizen and neighbors confirmed he lives with his family in their $653,000 home in Langhorne, Pennsylvania
FBI agents executed a search warrant on Sunday at Balat’s home and collected several pieces of evidence from the residence. Two men and a woman were taken into custody at the home
City spokesperson Joe Calvello told NBC News: ‘Thankfully, the Mayor and the First Lady are both safe, though the events are a stark reminder of the threats they both face regularly.’
Lang is one of the more than 1,500 Capitol riot defendants who were pardoned by President Donald Trump last year after taking office.
He later described the January 6, 2021, rioters as an ‘organized unit of patriots trying to take on tyrants.’
Earlier this year, Lang organized a rally in Minneapolis in support of Trump’s immigration crackdown, drawing an angry crowd of counterprotesters that quickly chased him away.
