Federal agents detained three Pakistani men on Thursday during a series of raids in the Northeast as part of the probe into the failed Times Square car bombing. Attorney General Eric Holder said officials are working to determine the nature of the connection between the detained men and Faisal Shahzad, the accused bomber.

Attorney General Eric Holder: “There’s at least a basis to believe that one of the things that they did was to provide him with funds, and so we’re trying to trace back to see what exactly was the nature of those transactions, the purpose of the sharing of those monies. And so this is just part of an ongoing investigation, and I think it, though, is a significant step.”