Bangladeshi man arrested in New York after ‘suicide blast’ attempt

The suspect arrested after being injured in an apparent suicide blast attempt that rocked New York's Port Authority, one of the city's busiest commuter hubs in Manhattan, is originally from Bangladesh.

News Deskbdnews24.com
Published : 11 Dec 2017, 02:47 PM
Updated : 11 Dec 2017, 09:24 PM

Police have identified the suspect as 27-year-old Akayed Ullah, who moved to the US seven years ago and has an address in Brooklyn, an area with most residents from Bangladesh. 

Akayed was admitted to Bellevue Hospital Center in ‘serious condition’ after the attack around 7am local time at the start of the city’s rush hour on Monday, New York Police Department Commissioner James P O’Neill said at a media briefing near the scene, according to NYPD News.

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio called the incident ‘an attempted terrorism attack’.

Akayed Ullah, a Bangladeshi man who attempted to detonate a homemade bomb strapped to his body at a New York commuter hub during morning rush hour is seen in this handout photo received December 11, 2017. New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission/Handout via REUTERS

The local media have published a photo of the bearded suspect lying on the ground with burns on his torso.

Reuters also published a photo of Akayed after obtaining it from New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission. He had a black cab/limousine driver's license from 2012 to 2015, after which it expired, the commission told Reuters.

A CCTV footage of the blast posted on the social media shows people walking through a passageway below ground and suddenly the screen fills with smoke while the people are rushing away.

A man is seen lying on the floor when the smoke clears after the blast in the video.

Bangladesh has condemned the attack, reportedly inspired by Middle East-based radical group Islamic State.

The embassy in Washington DC in a statement reiterated the Sheikh Hasina government’s 'zero tolerance' policy against terrorism.

“A terrorist is a terrorist irrespective of his or her ethnicity or religion, and must be brought to justice,” it said.

“Government of Bangladesh is committed to its declared policy of 'Zero Tolerance' against terrorism, and condemns terrorism and violent extremism in all forms or manifestations anywhere in the world, including Monday morning's incident in New York City,” the statement added.

Citing Bangladesh’s Inspector General of Police AKM Shahidul Hoque, Reuters reported that Akayed is from the port city of Chittagong.

He visited Bangladesh for the last time on Sept 8 this year, the Bangladesh Police chief told Reuters.

NYPD, in a series of Twitter posts, said Akayed was wearing an improvised explosion device attached to his body and he intentionally detonated it, injuring four others.

 

New York Post reported that the suspect had wires attached to him and a 5-inch metal pipe bomb and battery pack strapped to his midsection.

White House Spokesperson Sarah Sanders told reporters: "This attack underscores the need for Congress to work with the president on immigration reforms that enhance our national security and public safety."

" ... We must ensure that individuals entering our country are not coming to do harm to our people," she said during a regular news briefing. "And we must move to a merit-based system of immigration."

 

New York Police Department (NYPD) officers stand guard near Port Authority Bus Terminal after reports of explosion in Manhattan, New York, US, December 11, 2017. Reuters

Police and fire crews block off the streets near the New York Port Authority in New York City, US December 11, 2017 after reports of an explosion. Reuters

More than 200,000 people use the Times Square station, the city's busiest, each weekday, Reuters reported citing the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Ten train lines use the station.

The bus terminal is the busiest in the United States, according to the Port Authority. On a typical weekday, about 220,000 passengers arrive or depart on more than 7,000 buses.

Commuters exit the New York Port Authority in New York City, US, Dec 11, 2017 after reports of an explosion. Reuters

The bus terminal is just adjacent to the subway station's western section. A long, narrow underground tunnel connects that part of the station to its eastern section, and is used by thousands of commuters during rush hour. Buskers and other entertainers at entrances to the tunnel often draw crowds.

New York in December sees a surge of visitors who come to see elaborate store displays, the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree and Broadway shows.

The incident occurred less than two months after an Uzbek immigrant killed eight people by speeding a rental truck down a New York City bike path, in an attack for which Islamic State claimed responsibility.

In September 2016, a man injured more than two dozen people when he set off a homemade bomb in New York's Chelsea district.