Manhattan subway bomber sentenced to life in prison

Judge says Akayed Ullah committed a 'truly barbaric and heinous crime' in Times Square in 2017

Police stand guard inside the Port Authority Bus Terminal after the bombing near Times Square, New York City, in 2017. AP

A Bangladeshi man convicted of setting off a pipe bomb during the morning rush hour in New York's Times Square subway station was sentenced on Thursday to life plus 30 years in prison.

Akayed Ullah, 31, of Brooklyn, had claimed he wanted to kill only himself and was not acting on behalf of ISIS when he detonated his home-made bomb on December 11, 2017.

No one died, but four people were injured in the explosion, which led to the temporary closure of the station and the adjacent Port Authority bus terminal. Ullah received burns in what prosecutors called a "lone wolf" attack.

US Circuit Judge Richard Sullivan, who imposed the sentence, told Ullah he committed a "truly barbaric and heinous crime" without regard for humanity.

"They were just people on the way to work or school," Mr Sullivan said. "People who maybe had finished the night shift. To you, these people were expendable."

Ullah, who is married and has a son, 3, faced a mandatory minimum 35-year term.

He told Mr Sullivan he did not condone violence and apologised to New York City, law enforcement and the US.

"What I did on December 11, it was wrong," Ullah said. "I can tell you from the bottom of my heart, I'm deeply sorry."

Prosecutors said Ullah was angry with former president Donald Trump and with US foreign policy in the Middle East, and that ISIS propaganda inspired him to kill, maim and terrorise as many commuters as possible.

"Akayed Ullah's message of hatred clearly backfired," US Attorney Audrey Strauss said.

At the time of the attack, Ullah had a green card allowing him to live in the US.

He lived with his mother, sister and two brothers in Brooklyn, while his wife and son lived in Bangladesh.

Ullah's lawyer, Amy Gallicchio, a federal public defender, called him a "deeply troubled soul" who had been attracted to "distorted and radical messages" of extremism on the internet.

"He is not an evil man," Ms Gallicchio said, a sentiment the judge also expressed. "He is not a monster."

But federal prosecutor Rebekah Donaleski questioned why Ullah chose Times Square to set off the bomb if suicide was his goal.

The bomb materials had come from a nearby construction site where Ullah worked as an electrician.

"It is important to send a message that when you attack New York City, there will be no leniency," Ms Donaleski said.

Ullah was convicted in November 2018.

Mr Sullivan presided over Ullah's case when he was a federal district judge.