The president of Uzbekistan on Wednesday offered his country’s assistance in investigating the deadly terror attack in the lower Manhattan area of New York City. The suspect in the attack was identified as an Uzbek national, Sayfullo Habibullaevic Saipov.
Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev expressed his condolences to the families of the victims in what appeared to be the first instance of Uzbekistan officially acknowledging or commenting on a security incident abroad involving one of its citizens, but the country has been linked to at least three other terrorist incidents over the last year.
In April, Uzbek national Rakhmat Akilov drove a truck into pedestrians in Stockholm, Sweden, killing five people.
Earlier that same month, Akbarzhon Jalilov, a Russian citizen who was born in Kyrgyzstan but of Uzbek heritage, blew himself up on a train in St. Petersburg, Russia, killing 15 people along with himself.
And, in the early hours of New Year’s Day, another Uzbek national, Abdulkadir Masharipov, attacked a party at a nightclub in Istanbul, Turkey, killing 39 revelers.
The Muslim-majority nation of Uzbekistan, which gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, is located north of Afghanistan and governed by an authoritarian regime. The harsh conditions there have meant a number of nationals leave, looking for opportunities abroad.
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