US: Chelsea bomber given life in prison

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - A man convicted of attempting to carry out multiple bombings in New York City and New Jersey was sentenced to life in prison by a Manhattan court Tuesday.

Ahmad Khan Rahimi, 30, was convicted in October of attempting to carrying out two bombings in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood in September 2016, one of which injured 30 people. The other pressure cooker-type bomb was found undetonated several blocks away.

"Inspired by ISIS and al Qaeda, Ahmad Khan Rahimi planted and detonated bombs on the streets of Chelsea, and in New Jersey, intending to kill and maim as many innocent people as possible,” U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said in a statement, referring to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, another name for Daesh.

"Rahimi’s conviction and sentencing are victories for New York City and our nation in the fight against terror," he added.

The Chelsea bombing happened just hours after a pipe bomb exploded in New Jersey at the site of a Marine Corps charity 5k race. No one was injured in that bombing due to a last-minute delay in the run's start time.

Rahimi, a naturalized U.S. citizen born in Afghanistan, faces separate charges related to that bombing in Seaside Park, New Jersey as well as bombs found in a backpack at a train station in nearby Elizabeth.

He was arrested after a shootout with police in Linden, New Jersey that injured three officers.