Manhattan bomb suspect faces terrorism charge

World
Europe

US prosecutors have slapped terrorism and other charges on a Bangladeshi man accused of setting off a bomb in a crowded Manhattan commuter hub on Monday.

The charges filed in Manhattan federal court Tuesday against Akayed Ullah, 27, include bombing a public place, providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization and using a weapon of mass destruction.

He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison on some counts.

In Bangladesh, local police said that his wife, Jannatul Ferdous Jui, and his parents-in-law had been detained at their home in Dhaka.

New York police say Ullah set off a pipe bomb in an underground corridor of the subway system that connects Times Square to the Port Authority Bus Terminal at rush hour on Monday morning, injuring himself and three others.

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio called it an attempted terrorist attack, and US officials said it appeared to be a rare if not unprecedented attempt at suicide bombing on US soil.

Officials place suspect Akayed Ullah, on a stretcher, into the back of an ambulance on Eighth Avenue between 42nd Street and 43rd Street, New York on Monday. /AP Photo

A US enforcement official familiar with the investigation into Monday's attack said officers had found evidence that Ullah had watched ISIL propaganda on the Internet.

On the morning of the attack, Mr Ullah posted on his Facebook page: "Trump you failed to protect your nation."

His passport, which was recovered from his home, had handwritten notes, including one that read, "O AMERICA, DIE IN YOUR RAGE."

Investigators in Bangladesh were questioning Ullah's wife, according to two officials who declined to be identified as they were not permitted to discuss the matter publicly. They did not provide details on the questioning, but said the couple have a six-month-old baby boy.

"We have found his wife and in-laws in Dhaka. We are interviewing them," one of the police officials said.

Ullah married a Bangladeshi woman about two years ago and she lived in Dhaka, the cousin said, adding that he was educated in Bangladesh before he moved to the United States.

Bangladesh's police chief said on Monday that Ullah had no criminal record in his home country, which he last visited in September.

Ullah lived with his mother, sister and two brothers in Brooklyn and was a green card holder, said Shameem Ahsan, consul general of Bangladesh in New York.

More security measures ahead of New Year

New York City's counterterrorism chief said on Tuesday that police will adjust security plans for the traditional New Year's Eve celebrations attended by hundreds of thousands of revelers in Times Square after the suicide bombing.

Law enforcement officials on the scene following an explosion near New York’s Times Square on Monday. /AP Photo

The New York Police Department will conduct both an immediate and an in-depth review of Monday's incident for lessons on how to deal with this type of attack, said John Miller, deputy commissioner for intelligence and counterterrorism.

The New Year's security plan will also consider other attacks such as the Las Vegas sniper shooting on October 1 that killed 58 people and wounded more than 500, Miller said.

As a result, New Yorkers will see an increased police presence around mass transit and places where people gather, Miller said. He did not elaborate on the specific measures.

Source(s): AP ,Reuters