Saipov ‘felt good about what he had done’, wanted to fly IS flag
WASHINGTON: New York attack suspect Sayfullo Saipov, shortly after mowing down eight people with his pickup truck on Tuesday, told investigators that he had “felt good about what he had done”, and asked for their permission to fly Islamic State’s flags in his room.
Saipov had been inspired by IS videos and speeches, many of which had been stored on his cellphones. US federal authorities, in a court document charging Saipov with terrorism, also said he had planned the attack for a year and chose a truck as a weapon two months ago from an IS playbook. He timed it for Halloween to maximise damage,.
He was particularly motivated “to commit the attack after viewing a video in which (IS founder and leader) Abu Bakr al-baghdadi,” the court filing said, “questioned what Muslims in the United States and elsewhere were doing to respond to the killing of Muslims in Iraq”.
Investigators found approximately 90 Is-related videos, many of whom were standard propaganda on Saipov’s cellphones. One was of a prisoner being run over by a tank, another showed a prisoner shot in the face. And one of them was a manual on how to make an improvised explosive device at home.
Authorities have said Saipov was radicalized in the US.
News report citing acquaintances and friends from cities Saipov had lived in drew a picture of gradual radicalization that became clearer over time. A preacher from a Florida mosque he attended told New York Times he had tried to prevent him from going doing the path of extremism.