Times Square evacuated after suspected package found

NEW YORK: A part of the Times Square was evacuated today as police investigated a 'suspicious package' that was found at the tourist hot spot, almost a week after a failed car bomb attack by a Pakistani-American.

Some parts of the Square, the busiest shopping centre in the world, were cleared after a 'suspicious package' was found close to where the SUV with the car bomb was placed by terror suspect Faisal Shahzad on Saturday.

The package was found near 45th Street and Broadway, New York Police Department officials said.

The police is yet to provide any details about the incident or about the contents of the package, but some streets around the popular tourist site have been cleared.

Since the foiled car bomb attack last Saturday in Times Square, the number of "suspicious package" calls to the NYPD has increased.

Between Sunday and Wednesday, police have checked out 493 suspicious packages, compared with 381 in the same period last year, according to Wall Street Journal.

On May 1 police had found a car bomb in Times Square, that failed to explode, sparking a two-day manhunt that led to the arrest of Pakistani-born US citizen Faisal Shahzad.