The man accused of killing eight people in Tuesday's terror attack in New York City has been charged in a US federal court with acting on behalf of the so-called Islamic State group.
At least 11 people were injured in the attack after the suspect, 29-year-old Sayfullo Saipov, drove a pick-up truck onto a path for cyclists.
Saipov confessed to authorities while in custody that he began planning the attack a year ago, according to the criminal complaint filed against him.
Saipov was shot by a police officer while attempting to flee minutes after the attack, and was taken to a local hospital, where he was recovering from an abdominal wound.
The 10-page complaint said Saipov waived his rights to remain silent and avoid self-incrimination in agreeing to speak to investigators without an attorney present from his Bellvue Hospital Center bed in Manhattan.
In the course of that interview, the complaint said, Saipov told investigators he was inspired by IS videos he had watched on his phone, chose Halloween for the attack because he believed more people would be on the streets, and had originally planned to strike the Brooklyn Bridge as well as the bike path.
The complaint also said Saipov had requested permission to display the IS flag in his hospital room and said he felt good about what he had done.
US justice officials announced they had found a second Uzbek man they were seeking in relation to the attack.
The development came less than an hour after the FBI released posters with a picture of Mukhammadzoir Kadirov, 32, and appealed for information.
Update: Mukhammadzoir Kadirov has been located, we are still looking for any information the public may have on him, call: 1-800-CALL-FBI
— FBI New York (@NewYorkFBI) November 1, 2017
William Sweeney, the assistant director of the FBI's New York field office, said he had been located.
He told a press conference: "We are no longer looking for the person the information went out about.
"We have found him and I'll leave it at that."
Earlier, a spokesperson for the NYPD said that Saipov had never been the subject of a federal or local police inquiry.
According to US media outlets, the suspect shouted "Allahu Akbar" - Arabic for "God is greatest" – after leaping from his truck, which had crashed into a school bus as he sped away from the carnage.
Federal officials had become aware of Saipov while conducting an unrelated investigation, the New York Times reported.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo declined to comment on that report when asked by reporters at a news conference. "It is too early to give you a definitive answer," he said.
He later said that Saipov was associated with IS but "radicalised domestically".
"He's a depraved coward is what he is, and he was associated with ISIS, and he was radicalised domestically, and he's a depraved coward," Mr Cuomo said in an interview with CNN.
Five Argentine citizens were killed and another injured in the attack, the foreign ministry said. The Argentine victims were from the city of Rosario, and were visiting New York for a school reunion.
"The Argentine government expresses its most sincere condolences for the deaths of Argentine nationals Hernan Diego Mendoza, Diego Enrique Angelini, Alejandro Damian Pagnucco, Ariel Erlij and Hernan Ferruchi, in the dramatic terrorist attack this afternoon in New York," the ministry said.
Belgium's foreign minister also said a Belgian citizen was also among those killed.
Eleven others were seriously hurt when the truck driver struck in broad daylight just metres from the 9/11 Memorial, on the West Side of Lower Manhattan, close to schools as children and their parents geared up to celebrate Halloween.
Read More:
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- Manhattan terror attack: what we know
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The injured Argentinian man was named as Martin Ludovico Marro, who was being treated at Presbyterian Hospital in Manhattan with non-life-threatening injuries, it added.
US President Donald Trump has criticised the nation's visa system in the wake of the attack, blaming Democrats and pressing a "merit based" program for immigrants to the United States.
"The terrorist came into our country through what is called the 'Diversity Visa Lottery Program,' a Chuck Schumer beauty. I want merit based," Mr Trump wrote in a post on Twitter, referring to the Senate Democratic leader.
The terrorist came into our country through what is called the "Diversity Visa Lottery Program," a Chuck Schumer beauty. I want merit based.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 1, 2017
We are fighting hard for Merit Based immigration, no more Democrat Lottery Systems. We must get MUCH tougher (and smarter). @foxandfriends
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 1, 2017
Saipov, born in February 1988, moved to the United States seven years ago from Uzbekistan. He appears to have lived in Ohio, Florida and New Jersey since then.
An Uzbek immigrant who met Saipov in Florida several years ago told the New York Times that Saipov worked as a truck driver there but began driving for Uber when he moved to New Jersey.
"He was a very good person when I knew him," Kobiljon Matkarov told the newspaper.
"He liked the US, he seemed very lucky and all the time he was happy and talking like everything is okay. He did not seem like a terrorist, but I did not know him from the inside."
The newspaper, citing sources, reported that Saipov had been living in Paterson, New Jersey, about 40km northwest of the scene of the attack.
He rented the truck used in the attack from a Home Depot in nearby Passaic, just south of Paterson, it said.
Police cordoned off an area of Paterson, a one-time industrial hub known for its large immigrant population, early this morning.
About 25,000 to 30,000 Muslims live in the city, giving it one of the highest concentrations of Muslim people in the New York City area.
Saipov has a history of traffic violations, according to media reports and court records.
In one incident, he was pulled over in central Pennsylvania for pulling a truck trailer that was longer than permitted by law and "operating unsafe equipment", as well as driving with the wrong operator’s licence, state judicial records show.
Meanwhile, the New York Mayor Bill De Blasio has confirmed that city's marathon will go ahead as planned on Sunday 5 November.
He said security will be heavily stepped up for the race, involving more than 50,000 runners and 2.5 million spectators.
