Man jailed over NY bombing plot

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A Pakistani immigrant to the US convicted of plotting to detonate a bomb in a New York City subway station has been sentenced to 30 years in jail.

In May a federal jury found Shahawar Matin Siraj, 24, guilty of scheming to blow up the Herald Square subway station in Manhattan in August 2004.

The arrest took place shortly before the Republican Party convention, which was held at a nearby venue.

Siraj admitted to taking preliminary steps to carry out the bombing.

However there was no proof he ever obtained explosives or was linked to any terror group.

Defence lawyers had argued that their client was only a "confused and misguided youngster" rather than a dangerous terrorist.

Prosecutors said he deserved at least a 30-year sentence as he had devised a "workable terrorist plot".

"Thanks to the extraordinary work of law enforcement, the defendants' plot did not advance beyond the planning stage," prosecutor Roslynn Mauskopf said after the sentence was handed down.

"We remain steadfast in our commitment to stop would-be terrorists before they act," she added.