New York explosion: Who is Akayed Ullah, son of a Bangladeshi freedom fighter and inspired by ISIS?

While terror group Islamic State of Iraq and Syria has threatened to attack New York City during the holidays, especially Christmas, supporters of the group seem to have already made up their minds to act on this threat. In tune, an explosion took place at the city's Port Authority bus terminal on Monday morning injuring four.

The suspect, who has been identified as 27-year-old Akayed Ullah, is said to be a native of Bangladesh and reportedly visited the country on September 8. The Bangladeshi government also condemned the attack.

"A terrorist is a terrorist irrespective of his or her ethnicity or religion, and must be brought to justice," a spokesman for the country's embassy in Washington said in an emailed statement, according to Reuters.

Who is Akayed Ullah? 

The 27-year-old moved to the city seven years ago and lived in Brooklyn. Based on police records, he has no other criminal charges and had recently done some electrical work at the Port Authority bus terminal. 

According to the Daily Star, Ullah's family still lives in the Hazaribagh area of the capital city, Dhaka. "We came to know, the family now lives in Dhaka's Hazaribagh," Abu Taher, Union Parishad member of Musapur Union, told the newspaper. While his relatives couldn't be contacted, it is being said that Ullah is the son of a freedom fighter, who fought the Bangladesh's Liberation War. A distant relative has now been traced and reportedly summoned. 

"Akayed's father Md Sanaullah was a freedom fighter. However, I don't know if he is dead or alive," UP chairman Khair Nadim added. 

On interrogation, Ullah told the police that he chose the bus terminal not just because it was the busiest in the world, but also because of the Christmas-themed posters that had been put up there. He explained that through the attack, he wanted to avenge the deaths of ISIS fighters killed by US airstrikes in Syria and other regions, reported The New York Times.

"This was an attempted terror attack and thank God the perpetrator did not achieve his ultimate goals," Mayor Bill de Blasio said during a news conference.

US President Donald Trump too spoke of the attack and slammed the current immigration system. "The terrible harm that this flawed system inflicts on America's security and economy has long been clear," Trump said in a statement. "I am determined to improve our immigration system to put our country and our people first."

While the pipe bomb strapped to Ullah's body did not completely detonate, officials believe that there could have been more injuries and even deaths had the device fully worked. After being taken into custody, he was taken to the Bellevue Hospital, where he was treated for serious burns and lacerations to his abdomen and hands.

Meanwhile, ISIS released a poster a few days ago, in which it warned of a Christmas attack in NYC. The poster features a caption that reads: "We meet at Christmas in New York... soon," and shows Santa Claus on a roof of a building overlooking the Times Square. Next to Santa is a box of dynamite.

This poster is one of the many warnings that ISIS has released in the past few weeks. The terror group has threatened to carry out attacks across Europe over the holidays and has also released a few similar posters. The group's other targets seem to be London's Regent Street and Paris' Eiffel Tower, both decked up in Christmas lights, reported the Daily Mail.

These posters also show a crowd of revellers at Christmas markets in various places in UK, France and Germany and carry the caption: "Soon on your holidays," written in English, French and German. ISIS also seems to be aiming to attack the Vatican in Rome and one of the posters shows a terrorist armed with a rocket launcher overlooking the St Peter's Square in the Vatican.