US: Daesh-inspired New York attacker found guilty

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON

A would-be suicide bomber was found guilty Tuesday of all six charges against him after he sought to detonate a pipe bomb in a busy underground walkway near New York’s Times Square.

Akayed Ullah, a 28-year-old resident of Brooklyn, New York and Bangladeshi immigrant, had told police he wanted to carry out the botched Dec. 11, 2017 attack in Daesh's name. But Ullah only seriously injured himself when the explosive device that was strapped to his body malfunctioned.

He had faced a week-long trial before his conviction on federal terrorism charges. Ullah is scheduled to be sentenced in April and faces the possibility of life in prison.

"Ullah’s sinister purpose was to harm and terrorize as many innocent people in his path as possible, by using deadly violence to make a political statement," U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Geoffrey S. Berman said in a statement.

"Ullah’s conviction by a unanimous jury of New Yorkers falls on Election Day, which fittingly underscores the core principles of American democracy and spirit: Americans engage in the political process through votes, not violence," Berman added.