5 Friends From Argentina Among 8 Killed In New York Terror Attack

Five friends from Argentina were among those killed when the man pictured above, Sayfullo Saipov, a 29-year-old Uzbek immigrant, drove a truck into a cycle path in New York on Tuesday, the BBC reports.

The assailant, who was shot and wounded by the Police, has since been arrested.

Argentina’s foreign ministry named the men – all reportedly aged 48 or 49 – as Diego Enrique Angelini, Alejandro Damian Pagnucco, Ariel Erlij and Hernan Ferruch. Another of the friends, Martin Ludovico Marro, is being treated in hospital.

The deaths of the five Argentines were confirmed by the country’s foreign ministry. They were part of a group of 10 friends in New York to celebrate the 30th anniversary of their graduation from a polytechnic college in the central city of Rosario, Argentine media said.

One of the men who died, steel firm owner Ariel Erlij, helped pay for the friends’ trip, La Nación newspaper reported (in Spanish).

Three days of mourning have been declared in Rosario, Clarín newspaper reported. President Mauricio Macri expressed his “deep condolences” for the victims’ families on Twitter.

A Belgian national was also killed, Belgium’s foreign minister said. Two other victims have not yet been identified.

Eight people were killed and 11 injured when the driver of the truck hit people on a cycle path in Lower Manhattan.

The suspect reportedly shouted “Allahu Akbar” (“God is greatest”) as he left the truck. Officials said it was a terror attack – the deadliest in the city since the 11 September attacks.

A note was found in the truck that referred to so-called Islamic State, law enforcement sources were quoted as saying by US media.