The unsolved incident may be connected to earlier blasts at New York City's British and Mexican consulates. US authorities are offering a $65,000 reward in their renewed effort to track down suspects in the unsolved 2008 bombing of a US military recruiting station in New York City's Times Square.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation announced the increased reward on Tuesday and said the explosion at the US Armed Forces Recruiting Center may be linked to earlier unsolved bombings at the British and Mexican consulates in New York.

"Someone, somewhere knows something about a bomber who's still on the run," said FBI Assistant Director in Charge George Venizelos.

The agency had previously offered a $12,000 reward for information that led to the arrest and conviction of a suspect.
A still image of the bomb exploding A still image of the bomb going off

The FBI also put out for the first time CCTV surveillance video of what officials believe is the suspect riding a blue bicycle down Broadway and away from the bombing site.

The height, weight, age, sex, and race of the suspect are unknown.

The video may also contain images of as many as five accomplices who possibly acted as lookouts, the FBI said, although it does appear that the suspect planted the bomb without help.
The bomber left the scene on this bicycle (FBI) The suspected bomber's bicycle was recovered nearby

The explosive that went off at around 3:40am on March 6, 2008, was built using an ammunition can commonly used in military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

It was detonated with a fuse that the suspected bomber lit before fleeing on the bike, which was later found in a rubbish bin nearby.

Nobody was hurt in the blast because of the time of day, but the FBI said it could have caused "significant casualties" had it happened when more people were in the area.
The ammunition can used in the bombing (FBI) The ammunition can used in the bombing

Still, New York City Police Department Commissioner Raymond W Kelly said "the bomber narrowly missed killing or injuring passers-by who can be seen clearly in the vicinity moments before the blast".

He added: "The distance between polemics by bombing and the murdering of innocents is short, indeed."

Authorities say the incident bears similarities to the 2005 bombing of the British consulate and the 2007 bombing of the Mexican consulate in New York.

Those devices were also planted by someone riding a bicycle, and went off between 3am and 4am. No-one was hurt in the attacks