Who is Akayed Ullah?

International Desk: The taxi driver behind the failed terror attack in a New York City told investigators he meant to detonate his homemade pipe bomb in the busy subway station after seeing the walls festooned with Christmas posters - in revenge for violence against Muslims all over the world. 

While initial reports suggested the crude pipe bomb, made from a pipe, a 9-volt battery, match heads, sugar, Christmas tree lights and screws, had detonated prematurely, suspect Akayed Ullah, 27, insisted he set off the bomb deliberately. 

The bombing attack at the Port Authority Bus Station subway station comes just days after Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital, sparking violence between Israelis and Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. 

Ullah, who was arrested and taken for questioning after the bomb only partially detonated, told police he was walking through the underground tunnel at 7.20am, between the Port Authority station towards Times Square, when he saw the Christmas-themed posters on the wall, which reminded him of ISIS' calls last month for militants and lone wolves to attack holiday markets.
'He acknowledges he purposely set it off then and there,' a senior law enforcement official told the New York Post.

The Bangladeshi immigrant added that he was specifically inspired by ISIS, 'not Al-Qaeda'. 
Authorities say that if the explosive had fully detonated in the busy Midtown Manhattan subway station, there would have been more injuries and doubtless loss of life.

The attack came days after Ullah's Brooklyn neighbors say they heard a huge row coming from his home, reporting yelling and screaming over the past two nights.  

Ullah, who was allowed to stop and pray multiple times during his interrogation, was taken to Bellevue Hospital to be treated for serious burns and lacerations to his abdomen and hands but is expected to survive. At the hospital, the Brooklyn resident told investigators that he was inspired to carry out the attack by the recent flare ups between Israelis and Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. 

Source: Daily Mail Online

Risingbd/Dhaka/December 12, 2017/A K Azad