Egypt condemned on Monday the attempted bomb attack in Manhattan, which took place on the morning of the same day, leading to an explosion in a New York City subway station at Port Authority bus terminal, a busy transport hub, leaving five people injured, including the suspect Akayed Ullah who suffered minor wounds.
Ullah, a 27-year old immigrant from Bangladesh who was allegedly responsible for the bomb explosion, is under arrest. He reportedly confessed that he had been radicalised online and the attack was to avenge attacks against the Islamic State group (IS), according to the New York Times. It was not long ago that the extremist group carried out attacks in New York. In October, a man drove a truck onto a bike path in Lower Manhattan, causing eight deaths and 12 injuries.
American law enforcement officials called the explosion an “attempted terrorist attack.” The suspect strapped a pipe bomb to himself, planning to commit suicide at the rush hour, but officials were quoted by ABC News as saying that he failed to achieve his ultimate goal, injuring only four people in the attack.
The White House held a briefing condemning the attack, during which Sarah Sanders, White House spokesperson, highlighted the importance of President Donald Trump’s proposed immigration policy. She stressed that the attack could have been prevented if the aforementioned immigration policy was implemented, urging Congress to work on immigration reforms with the president.
Monday’s attack came days after the Trump administration recognised Jerusalem as Israel’s capital last week, a decision that was massively criticised by world leaders and international organisations and widely condemned by the Arab states, leading to clashes between Palestinian protesters and Israeli security forces, as well angry protests in several Arab states.
Meanwhile, the Egyptian state-affiliated Dar Al-Iftaa on Tuesday warned of the possibility that IS might seize the opportunity to recruit more young people to join its ranks amid of the rage against the US Jerusalem decision. It called on the international community, united to counter extremism and militancy, to “pressure the American administration” to back down on the decision.
Trump’s administration has recently succeeded in putting its so-called Muslim travel ban into effect after the US Supreme Court allowed it to on 4 December. The ban targets certain Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, Somalia, Iran, Libya, Somalia, and Chad. During his election campaign, Trump promised “a complete shutdown of Muslims” entering the US in the future, statements that sparked anger in Muslim nations.
