A Home Depot pickup truck that was used to plow into bicyclists on Oct. 31 sits wrecked in New York City. The attack was conducted by an Uzbek national who had been radicalized by the Islamic State after moving to the United States on a diversity visa.
Though Central Asian nations have kept terrorism relatively contained recently, more Central Asian nationals seem to be conducting attacks abroad. There are two parts to the trend: First, in cracking down on extremist elements, Central Asian states are pushing radical nationals out of the country and into other conflict zones and into more open societies. Second, Central Asian emigrant populations, confronting difficulty abroad, may be ripe for radicalization in their new settings. It is into this second category that we can file Sayfullo Habibullaevic Saipov, who conducted a terrorist attack in New York City on Oct. 31, which killed eight people and injured 12 others. Saipov, a 29-year-old immigrant from Uzbekistan, came to the United States legally in 2010 through a diversity visa program.
