US authorities said a man accused of child pornography charges was connected with a Bangladeshi man who planned to set off a bomb at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, according to a New York Times report.

The report said Howard Willie Carter II was suspected of being an accomplice to Quazi Mohammad Rezwanul Ahsan Nafis who was arrested in New York on Wednesday.

The US Justice Department said in a statement that Nafis faces charges of planning to use a weapon of mass destruction and trying to provide material support to al-Qaeda.

The 21-year-old suspect could face life sentence if convicted.

The FBI said the 450-kg bomb Nafis prepared for the attack was not in working condition, adding that an undercover agent had been closely monitoring the suspect.

Also according to the newspaper, Carter was arrested in the US city of San Diego after the FBI found 1,000 pictures of child pornography on a computer that was traced back to him in August.

The FBI also found on the computer's hard drive emails addressed to "Yaqeen," a name Carter used to communicate with Nafis.

In conversations with undercover officials, Nafis also said he once suggested attacking a military base near Baltimore, the report said.