The leader of the Pakistani Taliban, Hakimullah Mehsud, reported killed in a CIA drone aircraft attack in January, has appeared in Internet videos threatening revenge suicide strikes in the United States.
The tapes, likely to raise new questions about the strength of militants in US-allied Pakistan, were posted shortly after the Pakistani Taliban said it was responsible for an attempted car bomb attack in New York's Times Square on Saturday evening.
"The time is very near when our Fedayeen [fighters prepared to sacrifice themselves] will attack the American states in their major cities," warned Mehsud, who said the video was recorded on April 4th, 2010.
"Our Fedayeen have penetrated the terrorist America. We will give extremely painful blows to the fanatic America."
So far Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Taliban Movement of Pakistan, has focused on fighting the Islamabad government and never demonstrated a global reach, despite its ties with al Qaeda.
That's why some analysts say the threats made by Mehsud and the Times Square claim may actually be a sign of weakness after the group faced a series of Pakistani military offensives.
"The TTP has nothing to lose," said Taliban expert Rahimullah Yusufzai.
"The TTP is fighting a do or die battle against the Pakistan Army. And they want to embarrass the Pakistan Army and government in whatever way they can. So it helps them to claim a terrorist attack in the US."
But the group surprised observers with its apparent involvement in a suicide bomb attack near Khost in eastern Afghanistan on December 30th. That strike killed seven US Central Intelligence Agency employees in the second worst attack in the spy agency's history.
Hakimullah Mehsud appeared in a farewell video with the Jordanian double agent who carried out the operation.
The Pakistan Taliban said it planted the Times Square bomb to avenge the killing in April of al Qaeda's two top leaders in Iraq as well as US interference in Muslim countries.
New York Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said there was "no evidence" to support the Taliban's claim.
Pakistani security officials dismissed it as desperate propaganda.
"It's a media stunt. We know and the world knows their ability and capacity," said a Pakistani security official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
A total of three Taliban tapes were released - two from Mehsud and one from Qari Hussain, a Pakistani Taliban leader and notorious Taliban suicide bombing trainer.
"Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan takes responsibility for the attack in America with pride and valour. We also congratulate Muslims on this attack," said Hussain in an audio recording that did not refer specifically to the Times Square incident.
Police found the car bomb, which was defused on Saturday evening, in a sport utility vehicle when the area was packed with tourists and theatre-goers.
Mehsud was widely believed to have been killed by a US missile strike in South Waziristan in January but on April 29th, Pakistani intelligence officials said they believed he was alive, contradicting earlier comments.
Washington, while cautious about making pronouncements about Mehsud's fate, said it was clear he was no longer "operational" or in charge of the group.
Reuters