Obama adviser: Times Square bombing suspect linked to Taliban

Washington (CNN) -- The suspect in the failed Times Square bombing was likely working with the Taliban movement in Pakistan, President Obama's top terrorism adviser said Sunday.
John Brennan, the assistant to the president for counterterrorism and homeland security, told CNN's "State of the Union" that the ongoing investigation pointed to Faisal Shahzad having links to Tehrik-e-Taliban.

"It looks like he was working on behalf of the Pakistani Taliban," Brennan said.
Shahzad has been charged in connection with the attempted bombing in Times Square on May 1.

The group, also known as the TTP, is "closely allied with al Qaeda" and has pledged to carry out attacks on other parts of the world, including the United States, Brennan said.
Shahzad was arrested while trying to fly out of New York on Monday night, two days after he allegedly attempted to set off a car bomb in Times Square. The bomb failed to detonate.

It was the second case in the last six months of a bungled terrorist attack on the United States, following the failed bombing of a U.S. airliner on Christmas Day.
Brennan said U.S. counterterrorism efforts had degraded the ability of groups like al Qaeda and the

Taliban to launch successful attacks.
"They're trying to find vulnerabilities in our defenses," Brennan said, noting the attempts have been "unsophisticated."