Suspect says IS inspired NY attack

Trump vows crackdown on visa program that allowed man into US

NEW YORK - The immigrant behind New York's worst attack in 16 years confessed to acting in the name of the Islamic State group and "felt good" about the killings, having planned an assault for a year, investigators said on Wednesday.

The shocking details emerged as federal prosecutors filed terrorism charges against Sayfullo Saipov, who subsequently appeared in court in a wheelchair - he had been shot in the abdomen by police - 24 hours after mowing down pedestrians and cyclists, and colliding with a school bus.

US President Donald Trump vowed an immediate crackdown on the visa program that he said allowed the 29-year-old to immigrate in 2010, saying he would "certainly consider" sending the suspect to the military detention center in Guantanamo Bay and later calling for his execution.

The attack killed eight people, five of them childhood friends from Argentina celebrating 30 years since their high school graduation, a 31-year-old Belgian mother and two US men, from New York and neighboring New Jersey.

Of 12 wounded, four remained in critical condition following the deadliest attack in the country's financial capital since the al-Qaida hijackings on Sept 11, 2001.

Saipov first started planning an attack a year ago, before settling two months ago on using a truck to kill as many people as possible during Halloween celebrations, according to a federal terrorism complaint.

Prosecutors unveiled the charges, saying he had waived his rights and confessed to being inspired by IS propaganda.

"Saipov committed this attack in support of ISIS," US acting Manhattan attorney Joon Kim announced, using an acronym to refer to the IS group.

"Saipov requested to display ISIS's flag in his hospital room and stated that he felt good about what he had done," the charging document revealed.

Vehicle rammings have been a frequent tactic deployed by IS sympathizers in the West, including in Barcelona, London, Stockholm and Nice, where a Tunisian suicide truck bomber killed 86 people on Bastille Day last year.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said Saipov had been radicalized after moving to the United States. He is not a US citizen but a legal permanent resident.

Trump said he was "starting the process of terminating" the popular green card lottery, which he said had enabled Saipov to enter the country.

"We have to do what's right to protect our citizens," he said. "We will get rid of this lottery program as soon as possible."

He also called for "punishment that's far quicker and far greater than the punishment these animals are getting right now".

Afp - Xinhua - Ap

(China Daily 11/03/2017 page12)