Via CNN:

Ahmad Khan Rahami, the suspect in the weekend bombings in New York and New Jersey, traveled to Afghanistan multiple times in past years, according to law enforcement sources. One official told CNN Monday Rahami was questioned every time he entered the US, as is standard procedure, but was not on the radar for possible radicalization. Another official said Rahami traveled overseas a good bit, also visiting other countries not in the Middle East.

ELIZABETH, N.J. — A man who described himself as a childhood friend of the man wanted in connection with the New York City bombing told the Herald the suspect had made a life-changing trip to Afghanistan two years ago.

“At one point he left to go to Afghanistan, and two years ago he came back, popped up out of nowhere and he was real religious,” friend Flee Jones, 27, said of suspect Ahmad Khan Rahami. “And it was shocking. I’m trying to understand what’s going on. I’ve never seen him like this.”