New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg gave details of the alleged plot
A resident of New York has been arrested on suspicion of planning to bomb targets including police cars and postal offices, the city's mayor said.
Jose Pimentel, 27, was charged with terrorism-related offences, Michael Bloomberg said at a news conference in New York.
Mr Pimentel was described as a "lone wolf" who also allegedly planned to target US troops returning from abroad.
He was inspired by al-Qaeda, Mr Bloomberg said.
Mr Bloomberg was speaking at a briefing along with New York Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly and District Attorney Cyrus Vance, the chief prosecutor for Manhattan.
'Acted alone'Mr Pimentel allegedly got instructions on how to build a pipe bomb from al-Qaeda's Inspire magazine, published by radical cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, who was killed by a US drone attack in Yemen in September.
A replica of the bomb police said Jose Pimentel was building was shown to the news conferenceOne of the articles was entitled "How to make a bomb in the kitchen of your mom", according to Mr Kelly.
Mr Pimentel spoke about "killing US servicemen returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, particularly US army and marine corps personnel", Mr Kelly said.
"He talked about bombing post offices in and around Washington Heights and police cars in New York City, as well as a police station in New Jersey," the police chief added.
But officials said Mr Pimentel was "not part of a larger conspiracy".
The mayor said police had constructed a duplicate of an explosive device he alleged the suspect had built, before showed a videotape of it blowing up an unidentified car.
Mr Pimentel, who had been monitored since May 2009, was charged with three terrorism-related counts and two other counts.
According to court documents cited by AP news agency, Mr Pimentel told police he "took active steps to build the bomb, including shaving the match heads and drilling holes in the pipes" and was "one hour away from completing it".
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