Terrorism charges filed against New York bombing suspect

The US Attorney's Office in New York has filed federal terrorism charges against a bombing suspect who was accused of detonating a pipe bomb in an underpass at Manhattan's Port Authority Bus Terminal on Monday.

The suspect, 27-year-old Akayed Ullah, faces five charges ranging from using weapon of mass destruction to providing support to a terrorist organization, according to a court complaint filed on Tuesday, Xinhua news agency reported.

Ullah, a US lawful permanent resident from Bangladesh, admitted to investigators that he had built the pipe bomb and carried out the attack, the complaint said.

It also stated that Ullah had been inspired and radicalized by the Islamic State (IS) extremist group as far back as 2014.

"I did it for the Islamic State," he said, according to the complaint.

Moreover, prosecutors said in the charging document that before the attack, Ullah posted an update to his Facebook account on Monday that stated, "Trump you failed to protect your nation."

Acting US Attorney Joon Kim said in a news conference on Tuesday that "in plotting his attack, Ullah had hoped to die in his own misguided rage, taking as many innocent people as he could with him."

"But through incredibly good fortune, his bomb did not seriously injure anyone," he added.

The attack, using a low-tech bomb strapped to Ullah's body, took place in an underground passageway near the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Manhattan, wounding Ullah himself and injuring three others near him.

Ullah admitted that he began researching about how to build bombs about a year ago, and had been planning this particular attack for several weeks.

Kim added that Ullah allegedly selected the location and timing to "maximize human casualties".

"Like many others before him, we believe Ullah was inspired by a group that exploits technology in an effort to spread a violent ideology, effectively convincing sympathizers to commit terrorist acts worldwide," said Federal Bureau of Investigation Assistant Director William F. Sweeney Jr.

--IANS

pgh/