WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The 27-year-old suspect in Monday's terror attack in the New York City subway system, Akayed Ullah, has admitted he had been radicalized online by Daesh terrorist group through "propaganda starting as far back as 2014," Acting US Attorney for the Southern District of New York Joon Kim said in a press briefing.
"Ullah admitted that he began researching how to build bombs about a year ago, and had been planning this particular attack for several weeks," Kim told reporters.
Earlier on Tuesday, Kim's office filed five counts of federal terrorism charges against Ullah, including using weapons of mass destruction, and bombing a place of public use.
#HappeningNow: NYPD, @SDNYnews & PAPD announce federal charges against Akayed Ullah for yesterday’s terror attack in #Manhattan’s Port Authority Bus Terminal
— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) 12 декабря 2017 г.
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According to police, Ullah set off a pipe bomb which was strapped to his chest in a subway passage shortly after 7:20 a.m. (12:20 p.m. GMT) on Monday.
Deputy Police Commissioner for Counterterrorism and Intelligence John Miller told reporters that Ullah was wearing a self-made explosive device that resembled a pipe bomb, attached to his body with velcro and zip ties.
READ MORE: Trump Urges Congress to End Chain Migration in Wake of New York Attack
The device malfunctioned and went off prematurely, severely wounding the suspect and leaving three other people sustained minor injuries in the attack.
Meanwhile, the Bangladeshi Counter-Terrorism and Transnational Crime Unit (CTTC) are questioning his family members, in particular, the wife, father-in-law, and mother-in-law. Ullah visited Bangladesh in September and returned to the United States in October, the New Age daily reported.
In the wake of the terrorist attack that took place more than a month after the Halloween truck attack in Manhattan, which left eight people killed becoming the first deadly terror attack in New York since 9/11, US President Donald Trump urged Congress to end chain migration to enhance national security as underscored by the terror attack in New York City.
