Suspect in failed Times Square plot was Kashmiri-source

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Pakistani-American arrested over Saturday's failed Times Square car bombing was of Kashmiri descent but it is not known if he was affiliated with any militant group, a source familiar with the investigation said on Tuesday.

The source, who asked not to be identified because the issue is sensitive, said the suspect, Faisal Shahzad, was born in 1979 and had been in the United States for some time.

"Which group he may have belonged to and how he became radicalized, we don't know yet," said the source. "He is Kashmiri by ethnicity."

He said Shahzad, a naturalized U.S. citizen, last had his Pakistani passport renewed in March 2000 and by 2005 was in the process of getting a green card, or permanent residency in the United States.

In Pakistan, official sources said Shahzad, who became a U.S. citizen last year, was born in Pabbi, northwest of Islamabad.

During his time in the United States, he largely stayed in Connecticut, New York and the New Jersey areas, the source said.

(Reporting by Sue Pleming, Editing by Doina Chiacu)