‘Terrorist’ explosion in Manhattan injures 4; suspect named

An NYPD Port Authority Police Counter-Terrorism Unit officer guards the 8th Avenue entrance that is still closed to the public after a pipe bomb exploded in The Port Authority Bus terminal in the morning in New York City on Monday. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI

Dec. 11 (UPI) — An explosion in a subway near New York City’s Port Authority during the Monday morning commute was an attempted “terrorist attack,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said.

The explosion occurred just after 7 a.m. in the area of 42nd Street and Eighth Avenue in midtown Manhattan.

New York City police said a man with “wires coming out of him” was arrested in the subway. Police later said a pipe bomb is suspected, adding that the man appeared to be wearing a low-level explosive under his clothes. It detonated as he walked through a tunnel beneath the Port Authority building.

New York City Police Department Commissioner James O’Neill identified the suspect as Akayed Ullah. The 27-year-old Bangladeshi immigrant lived in Brooklyn and was inspired by the Islamic State, he said.

“Preliminary investigation at the scene indicates this individual was wearing an improvised low-tech explosive device attached to his body,” O’Neill said. “He intentionally detonated that device.”

Authorities said Ullah was injured in the explosion and was hospitalized.

The Fire Department of New York said four bystanders were injured, but none seriously.

Subways in the area were evacuated and the trains were forced to bypass the nearby Times Square station.

De Blasio called the incident “a terrorist attack,” but said there are no other known threats against the city. He added that security in Manhattan will be enhanced on Monday.

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