Bangladeshi immigrant Akayed Ullah indicted on terrorism charges for December's New York subway bomb attack

Washington: A Bangladeshi immigrant has been indicted on terrorism charges in the US for December’s botched bombing in a New York City subway station. Akayed Ullah, 27, would face life in prison if convicted of the attack in a passageway near the Port Authority bus terminal on 11 December that left three persons injured. Ullah, 27, who was also injured in the explosion, has been in federal custody since his arrest. He will be arraigned before Judge Sullivan. [caption id=“attachment_4255635” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. AP[/caption] The federal grand jury indicted Ullah on Wednesday with one count of providing and attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State, and one count of using and attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction. He has also been charged with one count each of bombing and attempting to bomb a place of public use and a public transportation system; destruction and attempted destruction of property by means of fire or explosives; conducting and attempting to conduct a terrorist attack against a mass transportation system. “As alleged in the indictment Akayed Ullah constructed a pipe bomb and detonated it in a mass transit hub in the heart of New York City to terrorise as many people as possible and to bring Islamic State-inspired violence to American soil,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Dana Boente. Ullah migrated from Bangladesh some six years ago on a family visa. He was sponsored by his uncle, who came to the US through diversity lottery visa. Since then US president Donald Trump has been pushing for end to chain migration and diversity lottery visa. He began to self-radicalise three years ago, authorities said, but law enforcement said he was not on their radar before the subway attack.