ISIS-Inspired Terrorist Who Left Eight Dead In Truck Attack Avoids Death Penalty

ISIS-Inspired Terrorist Who Left Eight Dead In Truck Attack Avoids Death Penalty

Trevor Schakohl on March 13, 2023

The ISIS-aligned terrorist who murdered eight people with a truck and injured many more in Manhattan will receive nine mandatory lifetime prison sentences after a jury failed to unanimously vote for his execution, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York revealed Monday.

Sayfullo Saipov’s Oct. 31, 2017 truck rampage left survivors with amputations, serious brain injuries and other life-altering conditions, and he subsequently told authorities he acted in response to then-ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi words, with the terror group celebrating him as one of their soldiers, according to the office. A jury found Saipov guilty in January 2023 of all charges against him, including murder for the purpose of gaining entrance to a racketeering enterprise and providing material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization resulting in death.

“This evil act was fueled by Saipov’s allegiance to ISIS, an allegiance which Saipov proudly maintained after the attack and up through his trial,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said, his office reported.

Saipov spent 10 minutes during a June 2018 pre-trial hearing rambling about devotion to “Allah” and ISIS’ jihad, according to The Associated Press. Al-Baghdadi killed himself and three of his children during a 2019 U.S. military operation in Syria.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin noted in Baghdad, Iraq on March 6 that counterterrorism coalition forces have wrested more than 50,000 square kilometers of territory from ISIS control over the years, the outlet reported. Austin declared the U.S. “will continue to strengthen and broaden” its partnership with Iraq’s government “in support of Iraqi security, stability, and sovereignty,” according to Reuters.