Confusion in New York on Monday morning, in the heart of Manhattan. An explosion at a subway station at 8th Avenue and 42nd Street near the bus station caused panic. An individual carrying explosives on him was arrested when his equipment appeared to have detonated prematurely, at 7.20 am. He was initially given for dead. Several subways were evacuated.
A “homemade bomb”
President Trump was quickly briefed on the situation. Dispatched there, Governor Andrew Cuomo, the first to speak at a press briefing, was reassuring: “It was a homemade bomb; the situation was brought under control very quickly ”. The mayor of New York, Bill de Blasio, confirmed for his part that it was indeed an “attempted terrorist attack”, which “thank God did not work”. Police said there were only four injured in total. None are in danger of death.
The 27-year-old suspect Akayed Ullah was carrying a “rudimentary explosive device” with him, police chief James O’Neill said. If his precise motives remain unknown for the moment, it would be a lone wolf, who probably intended to detonate his equipment in a subway, during rush hour. It was traveling through an underground tunnel linking the Port Authority bus station to Times Square, one of the most crowded corners of the city.
On behalf of IS
Former New York Police Chief Bill Bratton told MSNBC that he had been informed that the suspect was from Bangladesh and especially that he had acted on behalf of the Islamic State group. “The suspect has made statements, but we’re not going to talk about it now,” James O’Neill was content to tell reporters. On social networks, pro Islamic State profiles mention the attempted attack. The suspect lived in Brooklyn. His house is the subject of police searches.
White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Akayed Ullah arrived in the United States in 2011, under Obama, on a family reunification visa. And that President Donald Trump, who has restricted immigration from certain Muslim countries, now intends to prevent this kind of “chain migration”.
Governor Cuomo stressed that the explosive device had “fortunately only partially exploded”, while stressing that New York remained a prime target for terrorists. “We have the Statue of Liberty in our port, and that makes us an international target,” he said.
2/ The suspect has been identified by police as a 27-year old of Bangladeshi descent with a last known address in Brooklyn. His name is Akayed Ullah. Already pro-ISIS channels are celebrating him as an “istishadi” attacker. pic.twitter.com/IkrO6kZm7E
– rukmini Callimachi (@rcallimachi) December 11, 2017
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On October 31, New York had to face a ram truck attack orchestrated by an Uzbek who said he had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State. The attack killed eight people. It was the first fatal terrorist attack in the city since September 11, 2001.
On this subject:
The Islamic State group claims the New York attack
Donald Trump looks back on immigration
In the wake of the failed attack, Donald Trump called on Monday to reform the immigration system. Too “lax”, it “allows too many dangerous people” to return to the United States, he said. The American president underlined that the arrested man had entered the United States thanks to a system of “chain migration”. He ruled that the latter was “incompatible with national security”.
‘Chain migration’, a popular term for conservative anti-immigration politicians, refers to legal immigrants who manage to come to the United States through the sponsorship of previously immigrated family members, including siblings, or children. . “Today’s deadly New York attack – the second terrorist attack in New York in two months – once again illustrates the urgent need for Congress to pass legislative reforms to protect Americans,” said Donald Trump in a statement.
Call to Congress
Defending his migratory decree, Donald Trump considered that it was only a “step forward” to make the immigration system more secure. “Congress must put an end to chain migration”, he insisted, also reaffirming his conviction that the perpetrators of terrorist acts deserved “the heaviest sentences”, including the death penalty in certain cases. (AFP)
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