DHAKA: The suspected bomber who attempted a terror attack at the Port Authority terminal in Manhattan during the morning rush hour Monday (December 11), was a Bangladeshi immigrant, reports BBC quoting New York Police.
The 27-year-old suspect-- Akayed Ullah-- was wearing an "improvised, low-tech, explosive device attached to his body", which he detonated intentionally, said New York City Police Commissioner James O'Neill.
Three other people suffered minor wounds when it blew up in an underpass, at the biggest and busiest bus terminal in the world, serving more than 65 million people a year.
A photo circulating on social media shows the suspect lying on the ground with his clothes ripped and lacerations on his upper body.
He suffered burns and other wounds and was taken to Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan.
Akayed came from Chittagong, Bangladesh and entered the US with his parents and siblings in 2011 on an immigrant visa, according to CBS News.
However, Bangladesh is not one of the six countries affected by President Trump's travel ban.
White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said Akayed entered the US on an F43 visa.
This means he was the child of someone with an F41 visa, which is available to people who are the "brother or sister of a US citizen at least 21 years old".
Trump wants to end so-called "chain migration". Sanders said Trump's immigration policy would "have prevented this individual (Akayed) coming to the United States".
Akayed became a permanent US resident, living in Brooklyn, New York City. Bangladeshi police said he last visited the country on September 8.
Law enforcement officials in the US told the Associated Press news agency that Akayed was inspired by the Islamic State group - but had not had direct contact with them.
O'Neill said Akayed "did make statements but we're not going to talk about that right now".
The New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission told CNN that Akayed held a taxi driver's licence from March 2012 to March 2015.
He did not drive a New York yellow taxi or for Uber.
The Inspector General of Police (ASP) in Bangladesh, AKM Shahidul Haque, said Akayed had no criminal record in Bangladesh.
BDST: 0915 HRS, DEC 12, 2017
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