Press. Voanews.
U.S federal
prosecutors announced five federal terrorism charges against Akayed Ullah on
Tuesday, a day after the Bangladeshi immigrant reportedly set off a pipe bomb
in the New York City subway system, injuring himself and three others.
The most serious
charges brought against Ullah, 27, were material support for a designated
terrorism organization and using weapons of mass destruction, charges that
carry a maximum of 20 years to life in prison, respectively.
Ullah was also
charged with bombing a place of pubic use, destruction of property by means of
fire, and use of a destructive device in furtherance of violence, according to
a criminal complaint disclosed Tuesday.
Joon Kim, acting
U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced the charges at a
news conference in New York. The explosion happened about 7:20 a.m. Monday at
the Port Authority Bus Terminal subway station.
Kim told
reporters that Ullah "selected the location and timing to maximize human
casualties." Ullah was injured during the blast and taken to a hospital in
serious condition with burns on his hands and torso. He remains hospitalized,
and Kim said the charges would be formally presented to Ullah at his hospital
bedside.
According to the
criminal complaint, Ullah admitted to investigators to carrying out the attack
in the name of the Islamic State terrorist organization and recounted the
process of becoming radicalized and plotting the attack.
"I did it
for the Islamic State," Ullah told interrogators, the complaint alleges. Ullah,
who immigrated to the United States in 2011, also told authorities that he
carried out the attack "in part because of the United States government's
policies in, among other places, the Middle East," according to the
criminal complaint.
.jpg)
