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Published January 10, 2018
A New York City terror suspect was indicted by a grand jury Wednesday on terrorism and explosives charges connected to an alleged bombing at a transit terminal in December, the U.S. Attorney office announced.
Akayed Ullah was indicted by a jury in the Southern District of New York on six counts, including attempting to provide support to the Islamic State and attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction, the office said.
“Less than one month ago, during the holiday rush hour, Akayed Ullah allegedly detonated a bomb in a major transit hub of New York City,” U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said in a press release. “In selecting this time and place, Ullah’s alleged purpose in the Port Authority bombing was painfully clear: to inflict as much damage as possible, and to strike fear into the hearts of New Yorkers in the name of ISIS. Ullah’s alleged plot failed, and he is now charged with federal terrorism offenses and facing life behind bars.”
PORT AUTHORITY EXPLOSION: SUSPECT ID’D IN ‘ATTEMPTED TERRORIST ATTACK’
The indictment comes nearly a month after Ullah, 27, allegedly set off a pipe bomb in a subway passageway inside the Port Authority bus terminal during morning rush hour on Dec. 11. The attack injured at least four people plus the suspect, who suffered burns and wounds to his abdomen and hands. He appeared to be the only person seriously injured during the incident.
Reportedly inspired by ISIS, Ullah allegedly set off the “effectively low-tech device,” but the blast wasn’t powerful enough to turn the pipe into deadly shrapnel, law enforcement said in December.
PORT AUTHORITY EXPLOSION SUSPECT: WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT AKAYED ULLAH
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio called the explosion “an attempted terrorist attack.”
“Thank God the perpetrator did not achieve his ultimate goals,” de Blasio said following the incident.
The suspect, a Bangladeshi man, was in the U.S. on a chain migration visa, Department of Homeland Security Press Secretary Tyler Houlton said at the time. Ullah “is a lawful permanent resident” who entered the country in 2011 using a “passport displaying an F43 family immigrant visa,” Houlton said in a statement.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
https://www.foxnews.com/us/new-york-city-terror-suspect-facing-federal-charges-us-attorney-office-says