The FBI is reportedly looking at an attempted bombing in New York City as a potential act of terror after at least one of the suspects — who wielded a homemade bomb at a protest outside Gracie Mansion the day before — claimed that he had been inspired by ISIS.
NBC News correspondent Tom Winter reported on Sunday that one of the suspects referenced ISIS directly in statements to law enforcement after his apprehension, prompting the terror probe.
CNN reported that both suspects admitted to being “inspired by ISIS,” but said that officials do not believe that there is a connection between the New York City attack and the military action unfolding in Iran.
WATCH:
Emir Balat and Ibrahim Nikk, the two NYC terrorists who hurled an IED at protestors were reportedly inspired by ISIS. pic.twitter.com/gPiNeC0FoM
— Thomas Hern (@ThomasMHern) March 8, 2026
“Law enforcement sources [are] also telling us that the two suspects that were arrested in relation to those explosive devices have admitted to being inspired by ISIS,” correspondent Gloria Pazmino reported.
According to a report published Sunday by CBS News, the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force has taken over the investigation into Emir Balat, 18, and Ibrahim Kayumi, 19 — both of whom live in Pennsylvania — after a lab in Quantico confirmed that what appeared to homemade bombs were not “hoax devices” but deadly Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) using components that have been seen in previous terror attacks.
The devices, two sources told CBS, contained sports drink bottles filled with explosives that were set inside glass jars packed with nails, bolts, and screws. The explosives were connected to a firework described as an “M-80-type” with a fuse.
The sources said that the explosive material inside was called triacetone triperoxide, or TATP, which is a white powder made from two readily available household chemicals: acetone and hydrogen peroxide.
Multiple reports suggest that the investigation is also likely to probe the recent travels of the suspects, both of whom have made extended visits to Istanbul in the last two years. Balat stayed in the Turkish city for months, from early May of 2025 to late August of the same year. Kayumi also traveled to Istanbul, but only stayed for a few weeks in July and August of 2024. He also traveled to Saudi Arabia in March of 2024.
Fox News congressional correspondent Bill Melugin also reported that “New York City IED suspect Emir Balat’s parents are both from Turkey & were naturalized into US citizens in 2017, while Ibrahim Kayumi’s parents are both from Afghanistan. Mom naturalized in 2009, dad naturalized in 2004.”
New York City’s Democratic socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani issued a statement about the attack on Sunday, which had taken place as competing protests played out in front of Gracie Mansion.
Mamdani specifically named January 6th defendant Jake Lang — who led a protest of about 20 people — and referred to him as a “white supremacist,” saying his demonstration was “rooted in bigotry and racism” and was not welcome in New York City.
While he condemned the violent act that followed, he did not mention the names of the terror suspects or their potential inspiration. Instead, he said simply, “The attempt to use an explosive device and hurt others is not only criminal, it is reprehensible and the antithesis of who we are.”