Five friends from Argentina were among those killed in a truck attack in New York on Tuesday.

Eight people were killed and 11 injured when the driver of the truck hit people on a cycle path in Lower Manhattan.

A 29-year-old man, reported to be an Uzbek immigrant, was shot and injured by police as he left the vehicle.

US President Donald Trump has ordered the Department of Homeland Security to “step up” vetting measures in the wake of the attack.

The suspect, named by media as Sayfullo Saipov, reportedly shouted “Allahu Akbar” (“God is greatest”) as he left the truck.

A note was found inside referring to the Islamic State militant group, law enforcement sources were quoted as saying by US media.

Officials said it was a terror attack – the deadliest in the city since the 11 September attacks.

Who were the victims?

The deaths of the five Argentines were confirmed by the country’s foreign ministry. They were part of a group of 10 friends in New York to celebrate the 30th anniversary of their graduation from a polytechnic college in the central city of Rosario, Argentine media said.

One of the men who died, steel firm owner Ariel Erlij, helped pay for the friends’ trip, La Nación newspaper reported (in Spanish).

Argentina’s foreign ministry named the men – all aged 48 or 49 – as Hernan Diego Mendoza, Diego Enrique Angelini, Alejandro Damian Pagnucco, Ariel Erlij and Hernan Ferruch.

Another of the friends, Martin Ludovico Marro, is being treated in hospital. Three days of mourning have been declared in Rosario.

A Belgian national was killed and three others injured, Belgium’s foreign minister said.

Two other victims have not yet been identified.

 

Source: BBC