A Bangladeshi man pleaded guilty Thursday to attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction in what authorities called a plot to blow up the New York Federal Reserve Bank. He faces up to life in prison under a plea agreement.

Quazi Mohammad Rezwanul Ahsan Nafis, 21, was arrested on October 17 after pulling up to the Federal Reserve near Wall Street and attempting to detonate what he believed to be a 1,000-pound (454-kg) bomb hidden in a van. Instead, he was carrying inert materials planted by an undercover FBI agent.

(Reporting by Jessica Dye; Editing by Daniel Trotta and Lisa Von Ahn)