BD man found guilty of NY subway bomb blast

NEW YORK, Nov 07 (Reuters): A Bangladeshi accused of detonating a bomb last December in a New York City subway passageway on behalf of Islamic State (IS) was found guilty on Tuesday of all six criminal counts against him.

The charges include use of a weapon of mass destruction and support of a terrorist organisation, according to federal prosecutors.

The verdict against Akayed Ullah, 28, came after a week-long jury trial in Manhattan federal court. He faces a possible life sentence in prison.

Ullah's lawyers declined to comment on the verdict. They had not contested the bombing charges, but said his motive was to end his life, not to support IS even though he had taken in the militant group's propaganda online.

Akayed Ullah was arrested last December after detonating a homemade bomb in a pedestrian tunnel connecting two subway lines and a bus terminal in midtown Manhattan.

The explosion did not kill anyone, but authorities said three people suffered minor injuries and the subway station and the Port Authority Bus Terminal were closed temporarily that morning.

Federal prosecutors said he built the bomb out of a pipe taken from a construction site where he worked as an electrician, using match heads and sugar as explosives and screws as shrapnel. They said he was inspired by online IS propaganda urging supporters to carry out "lone wolf" attacks.