Ibraham Kayumi and Emir Balat, the two pro-Muslim teenagers who were arrested following an attempted terrorist attack in New York City on Saturday, reportedly admitted to police that they watched ISIS videos.
Sources told the New York Post on Sunday that Kayumi, 19, and Balat, 18, told police they tossed the explosive at protesters because they felt their religion had been insulted. The protest was organized by right-wing activist Jake Lang, who clashed with pro-Muslim counter-protesters.
Additionally, the New York Post reported that the NYPD and FBI are executing search warrants at Kayumi and Balat’s homes in Pennsylvania. It is unclear why they were in New York or when they arrived in the city.
Further information about Kayumi and Balat, including their immigration status, remained unknown as of publication.
BREAKING🚨: The device thrown at anti-Islam protesters in NYC was loaded with TATP — an extremely volatile and powerful explosive, per former NYPD Inspector @PaulDMauro.
TATP is the “Mother of Satan” favored by Al Qaeda, ISIS, used in the 7/7 London bombings (56 killed) and… pic.twitter.com/cp9bGlJCC4
— Officer Lew (@officer_Lew) March 8, 2026
Initially, social media speculated that the device was a smoke bomb. However, the NYPD later announced that it was an IED. Various news outlets, including the New York Post and Fox News, reported that the bomb in question is known as the “Mother of Satan,” a device that Al Qaeda and ISIS have used in the past.
The “Mother of Satan” contains triacetone triperoxide, or TATP, and was reportedly used overseas in the 2005 7/7 London bombings and the 2017 Manchester Arena bombing at an Ariana Grande concert.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has not yet specifically commented on Kayumi or Balat. Instead, Mamdani has focused primarily on Lang, whom he called a white supremacist, and said the protest outside Gracie Mansion was “rooted in bigotry and racism.” Lang was reportedly not arrested.
Social media videos show that Lang and his supporters brought a fully cooked pig to the protest. Muslims do not eat pork for religious reasons.
“Such hate has no place in New York City,” Mamdani wrote on X. “It is an affront to our city’s values and the unity that defines who we are.”
However, Mamdani acknowledged the attempted use of an explosive device, calling it “reprehensible.”
Yesterday, white supremacist Jake Lang organized a protest outside Gracie Mansion rooted in bigotry and racism. Such hate has no place in New York City. It is an affront to our city’s values and the unity that defines who we are.
What followed was even more disturbing. Violence…
— Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@NYCMayor) March 8, 2026
Lang responded to Mamdani on X, saying that the first-year mayor needs to resign. He also called on the U.S. government to deport Mamdani, who was born in Uganda and obtained U.S. citizenship in 2018.
“They screamed [ALLAHU AKBAR] and tried to murder dozens of White Christians who were peacefully protesting the Islamification of NYC,” Lang wrote. “Seems like you had stronger words of condemnation for me for being White.”
Mamdani had not replied to Lang as of Sunday afternoon.
Lang spoke with FreedomNews on Sunday, saying that he believed he was going to die when the teenagers threw the bomb at him.
“New York was built by white Christian men, and now it’s being taken over and destroyed by Muslims and socialists,” Lang said, “and so we need to defend our country.”
