IS claims New York truck attacker is a 'caliphate soldier'
3 Nov 2017 5:09 PM GMT
NEW YORK: Islamic State has claimed responsibility, without providing proof, for a truck attack earlier this week that killed eight people in the deadliest assault on New York City since Sept. 11, 2001.
The militant group on Thursday described accused attacker Sayfullo Saipov, 29, as "one of the caliphate soldiers" in a weekly issue of its Al-Naba newspaper.
The Uzbek immigrant was charged in federal court on Wednesday with acting in support of Islamic State by plowing a rented pickup truck down a popular riverside bike trail, crushing pedestrians and cyclists and injuring a dozen people in addition to those killed.
According to the criminal complaint against him, Saipov told investigators he was inspired by watching Islamic State propaganda videos on his cellphone, felt good about what he had done, and asked for permission to display the group's flag in his room at Bellevue Hospital.
Saipov was taken to Bellevue after being shot in the abdomen by a police officer before his arrest.
US President Donald Trump, who has called for Saipov to receive the death penalty, said in a Twitter post on Friday that Islamic State had claimed as their soldier the "Degenerate Animal" who killed and wounded "the wonderful people on the West Side" of Lower Manhattan.
"Based on that, the Military has hit ISIS "much harder" over the last two days. They will pay a big price for every attack on us!" Trump tweeted. Earlier this week, Trump suggested sending Saipov to the Guantanamo Bay military prison in Cuba, where terrorism suspects apprehended overseas are incarcerated. But on Thursday, he said doing so would be too complicated.
The US president has also urged Congress to end the Diversity Immigrant Visa program under which Saipov entered the United States in 2010.
Next Story
