Explosive Devices Found at Elizabeth Station Delaying Amtrak, NJ Transit

ELIZABETH, NJ — Five explosive devices were found in a backpack at the train station in Elizabeth, Sunday evening, forcing significant delays for New Jersey Transit and Amtrak. The devices were in the process of being made safe when they exploded, according to sources who say they appeared to have been similar to the devices discovered in Seaside on Saturday.

The devices - which were discovered in a garbage container by two men who notified Elizabeth Police - were being worked on by a bomb robot when the explosion happened. There are no reports of injures.

Elizabeth Mayor Chris Bollwage said had the bombs not been discovered, it would have been a different story with many injured or killed.

The discovery of the devices led to significant delays on both NJ Transit and Amtrak. Commuters are urged to check for delays in the morning.

Law enforcement official say the devices may be connected to the FBI's decision to stop five men Sunday night near the Verrazzano Narrows Bridge. The men, who were in a SUV, had several weapons on them and may have been headed to the airport. They are being questioned at an FBI office in Manhattan.

Sources say the FBI is trying to determine if the men are connected to the blast Saturday night in Manhattan. While the NJ and Manhattan blasts have significant differences - the Manhattan attack involved bombs made of pressure cookers; the NJ attacks were pipe bombs - they are trying to determine if the people behind both attacks were connected, or the same.

There is a significant history of active terror cells in New Jersey going back to the first attack on the World Trade Center in 1993.

Photo via Mayor Chris Bollwage's Twitter account