[NYPost] Alleged Port Authority bomber Akayed Ullah was influenced by the sermons and writings of a radical Moslem preacher ‐ and tried to have his wife brainwashed by him as well, Bangladeshi officials said Wednesday.Ullah, a 27-year-old Bangladeshi and self-described ISIS supporter, had asked his wife to read the writings and listen to the sermons of Moulana Jasimuddin Rahmani,
| ...who has had the attention of Bangladeshi coppers since 2007. Inspired by Anwar al-Awlaki, Muhammad Jasimuddin Rahmani‘s website was hosted on a server in Pakistan. His followers have included members of Harkat-ul-Jihad-al Islami (HuJI) and Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh... |
| ...the Bangladeshi press, for some reason, always writes that as Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT), sometimes called simply Ansarullah. Ansar-al-Islam is the name they took when they became the Bangladeshi branch of Al Qaeda in the India Subcontinent. They are notorious for murdering secular Bangladeshi bloggers and writers, plus others who catch their malign attention. Two years ago a target list was found naming bloggers, writers, and activists living abroad, and in August an ABT man was arrested in India for recruiting for ISIS. That last would explain why our miscreant insisted so strongly his dastardly deed was dedicated to ISIS rather than Al Qaeda... |
The group has been tied to killings and attacks on secular academics and atheist bloggers in Bangladesh. Rahmani is serving time in prison for his involvement in the killings.
Islam and his team interviewed Ullah’s wife, 25-year-old Jannatul Ferdous Jui, and other relatives for several hours, after picking them up at their rented apartment in central Dhaka.
Ullah’s wife was "surprised to find out what her husband did," despite speaking to him 30 minutes before the attack, Bangladeshi police told CNN.
His wife, who remained in Bangladesh when he moved Brooklyn, said he "never mentioned radicalization or planning these types of activities," police spokeswoman Sahely Ferdous told the network
"Akayed’s conversations with her were very normal," Ferdous said. "Akayed talked to his wife around 30 minutes before the kaboom, but he didn’t mention anything about the plan or what he was going to do."
A US resident since 2011, Ullah had visited Bangladesh in September to see his family, spending most of the time at home with their 6-month-old son, Islam said.
"Usually, he did not mix with any of his friends or relatives here. Most of the time he spent time in the house," Islam said. "We’re looking for his associates who he used to go to college or school with. We’re looking for them, we’ve not identified anyone yet."
US prosecutors on Tuesday brought federal charges against Ullah, accusing him of backing a foreign terrorist organization, but officials said he appeared to have no known links to local radical groups.
| ...though CAIR (Muslim Brotherhood in America) had no trouble finding the family afterward. But the local radical groups of Bangladesh are only a few keystrokes away. |
Ullah’s relatives were under surveillance and would not be allowed to leave Dhaka without police permission.
"In Bangladesh we have not found any connection or have not been able to identify any of his associates who were or are involved with any terrorist groups," he added.
An American official familiar with the investigation of Monday’s attack said officers had found evidence that Ullah had watched ISIS propaganda online.
Islam said Bangladesh had passed on information on Ullah to US authorities, but there was no joint investigation.
"I’m not sure whether they will send any formal request for an investigation or inquiry," he said. "If they do, we’ll comply with the request because we’ve given highest priority on this issue because we have a zero-tolerance policy against terrorism."
Would-be suicide bomber in New York City faces court hearing
[IsraelTimes] In less than 24 hours, authorities say a would-be jacket wallah’s botched attack on a Manhattan transportation hub underneath Times Square became an open-and-shut case after a search of his apartment and hearing the suspect’s own words. Akayed Ullah, who’s expected to make his first court appearance on Wednesday, made it clear from a hospital bed where he was being treated for burns from a pipe bomb he strapped to his body that he was on a mission to punish the United States for attacking the Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling
Allaharound with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not
reallyMoslems....
group, said Acting US Attorney Joon Kim. A search of the Bangladeshi immigrant’s apartment turned up bomb-making materials, including screws matching those found at the scene intended as carnage-creating shrapnel.
"His motivation," the prosecutor says, "was not a mystery."
Kim says Ullah picked the morning rush on Monday to maximize casualties in his quest "to kill, to maim and to destroy."
Ullah, 27, with a hate-filled heart and an evil purpose," carried out the attack after researching how to build a bomb a year ago and planned his mission for several weeks, Kim says.
Subway bomb suspect detained, no bail requested
[Ynet] A Bangladeshi immigrant accused of setting off a pipe bomb in the New York City subway system has appeared in court by video from a hospital room to face terrorism charges and will remain detained.
Akayed Ullah is accused of setting off an explosive strapped to his body, badly injuring himself but no one else.
Ullah appeared briefly Wednesday before a US magistrate judge via video, shown on monitors in the courtroom. Two assistant public defenders stood beside his hospital bed but did not request bail.
Ullah nodded to acknowledge he understood when the judge read him his rights. He spoke only a few words, acknowledging a financial affidavit filled out on his behalf was "true and correct."
Ullah did not enter a plea because he has not been indicted. The judge gave prosecutors until January 13 to obtain an indictment.