New York City truck attack patterned after ISIS instructions
Driver’s actions mimicked vehicle attacks on pedestrians in Europe
Emergency officials walk near evidence markers on a bike path in New York City after Tuesday’s terror attack. Associated Press/Photo by Seth Wenig
UNITED STATES: An Uber driver turned terrorist truck driver on Tuesday plowed into pedestrians and cyclists—killing eight and wounding at least 11—along a lower Manhattan park beautified in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio ruled it an “act of terror,” and it followed a pattern of truck attacks in Europe, first laid out in the Islamic State (ISIS) magazine Rumiyah in November 2016. At a news conference Wednesday, New York City Police Department Deputy Commissioner John Miller said the truck driver, Sayfullo Saipov, had never been the subject of an FBI or NYPD terrorism investigation, but he followed ISIS instructions for carrying out vehicle attacks “almost exactly to a T.” Five of the victims were former high school classmates from Argentina celebrating 30 years of friendship. Saipov, 29, is a green card holder from Uzbekistan who arrived in Ohio in 2010. Uzbekistan is not one of the countries designated under President Donald Trump’s latest travel restrictions, yet it, along with other former Soviet republics, continue to be the largest source of foreign fighters in ISIS.UKRAINE: While former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and others now face indictments over their pro-Russian activities in Ukraine and elsewhere, what Russia is doing in Ukraine gets little ongoing scrutiny. On Monday, a top opposition leader in Ukraine was assassinated in an ambush amid a spate of killings blamed on the Kremlin.
YEMEN: In photos, a look at cholera victims, who now number more than 800,000, the worst outbreak in history.
ISRAEL: Inside Syria, Jewish Israel is partnering with a Christian ministry, Frontier Alliance, to bring aid to Muslim war victims.
IRAQ: Wednesday morning I heard, for the first time since 2014, from a pastor in Basra, the Shiite-dominated southern seaport. He confirmed a Christian population in the city ranging from 700 to 900 people, in contrast to reports suggesting all had fled.
IDOP: With continuing focus on International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church (Nov. 5 and 12), members of the U.S. Senate are calling on Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to act on designating Countries of Particular Concern for violations of religious freedom, including Burma and Pakistan.
The Operation World app, available in Apple’s App Store and on Google Play, is a great way to access daily prayer topics and information on the church around the world.
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