The man accused of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction in Times Square carried out a dry run days before the failed attack, it has been claimed.

Faisal Shahzad, who is in custody in New York on terrorism and weapons charges, drove from his home in Connecticut to the theatre district on April 28 in the vehicle that days later he would pack with explosives, a law enforcement official told the Associated Press.

Mr Shahzad then returned on April 30 – the day before the attack – to drop off a black Isuzu get-away vehicle near to the target site.

But despite these preparations his escape from the scene on May 1 was hampered when Mr Shahzad discovered he had left the keys for the getaway vehicle inside the explosive laden car, the official said.

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He was forced to travel by public transport after leaving Times Square and returned on Sunday May 2 to retrieve the Isuzu even as investigators were searching for suspects. Mr Shahzad used the black vehicle to drive to John F. Kennedy airport where he was apprehended on board a flight out of the country.

Mr Shahzad, 30, admitted to rigging the Pathfinder SUV with a crude bomb based on explosives training he received in Pakistan, authorities say. He was pulled off a plane on Monday headed for Dubai and has been cooperating with investigators. He has yet to appear in Manhattan federal court.

Kifyat Ali, a cousin of Mr Shahzad’s father, has called the arrest “a conspiracy”.

The 30-year-old Pakistani-American could have links to both the Pakistani Taleban and a Kashmiri Islamist group, officials said today.

The United States has asked Pakistan for help in investigating the failed bomb plot, and is preparing a detailed request for urgent and specific assistance to be presented by the end of the week.

Pakistani security officials told Reuters that Mr Shahzad was close to Jaish-e-Muhammad, a group fighting Indian forces in the disputed territory of Kashmir and which also has ties to al Qaeda and the Pakistani Taleban.

“The people who have been picked up do have links to Jaish and have also been in touch with Shahzad during his visits here,” a Pakistani security official in Karachi said.

The official was referring to Mohammad Rehan, a friend of Shahzad, who was detained on Tuesday after leaving the Bat’ha Mosque in Karachi. Other associates, including Mr Shahzad’s father-in-law, have also been detained in Karachi.

The United States has also asked to interview Mr Shahzad’s parents, the Washington Post reported, quoting a Pakistani official who said their whereabouts are still unknown.

The suspect’s family packed belongings from their Peshawar home on Tuesday night and disappeared, neighbours said.