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The terrorist who mowed down and killed at least 9 people on a bike path in lower Manhattan yesterday with a rented Home Depot truck was from Uzbekistan, a Central Asian Muslim nation that has a history of terror.
The man immigrated to the United States in 2010 and was an Uber driver for some time.
“CBS News’ justice and homeland security correspondent Jeff Pegues reports from Washington that the suspect, 29-year-old Sayfullo Habibullaevic Saipov, is a truck driver and has known addresses in both New Jersey and Florida. Saipov doesn’t have an extensive criminal background, Pegues reports, with CBS News only finding about four traffic tickets in his past.
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“An Uber spokesperson confirmed to CBS News that Saipov was a driver for them and had passed a background check. He has been banned from the app. Uber has been in contact with the FBI and law enforcement,” reported CBS.
Central Asia has been a hot bed of extremism with many residents of the area traveling to the Middle East to fight for the Islamic State. Many of these soldiers are returning and migrating to other countries.
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Russia has had a particularly hard time with the area, fighting several wars with Chechnya in the 1990s and continuing to combat extremism in the neighboring countries of Dagestan and Uzbekistan. The older of the two Boston Bombers traveled to the area prior to the attack on the marathon several years ago.
This is an area that Russia and the United States could find is a place to cooperate on combatting extremism in this area as ISIS is defeated in the Middle East.
