Jewish businessman among victims of Manhattan terror attack

Ariel Erlij, an Argentinian Jewish businessman, was among the victims of the Islamic terror attack in New York.

A Jewish businessman was one of the victims killed on Tuesday by an Islamic terrorist who plowed his truck through a bike path near the World Trade Center memorial, killing at least eight and seriously injuring 11.

Ariel Erlij was killed together with another four friends from Argentina, Hernan Diego Mendoza, Diego Enrique Angelini, Alejandro Damian Pagnucco, and Hernan Ferruchi, who were visiting the city, celebrating 30 years since their graduation from the Polytechnic School of Rosario, Argentina.

The trip was paid for by Erlij, the chief executive of Ivanar, an Argentine steel products manufacturing company, according to Argentina’s La Nacion newspaper.

Another one of the victims was a Belgian citizen.

The terrorist, 29-year-old Sayfullo Saipov originally of Uzbekistan, mowed down pedestrians and cyclists and was subsequently shot in the abdomen by police after jumping out of the truck with what turned out to be a fake gun in each hand and shouting what witnesses said was “Allahu Akbar,” Arabic for “God is great,” authorities said.

He reportedly committed the attack on behalf of the Islamic State (ISIS) terror group.

By: World Israel News Staff