The two Israelis wounded in the ISIS-inspired terror attack in New Orleans on New Year's Day last week were IDF reservists who recently returned from the battle against Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, according to the New York Post on Saturday, citing Israeli consul for Southwest US, Elad Shoshan.
"They left the terror of one country and never expected to be victims of it in another," Shoshan was cited as saying.
The two friends in their 20s had reportedly been in the US for a six-week visit to “clear their heads," the consul affirmed, adding, “They came here to relax, to travel. Now that’s interrupted in the most horrific way.”
One of the men was critically injured and still has to undergo surgery while his friend is in stable condition.
Shoshan addressed the situation in the US, stating, “We said on October 8, the West is next,” further noting, “This isn’t the first time America has suffered a terror attack."
“You don’t put out 50 percent of a fire. You need to fully stamp it out to make sure it never happens again," he added.
New Orleans terror attack
Some 15 people were killed, and dozens more were wounded when a truck sporting an ISIS flag rammed into a crowd on Bourbon Street in New Orleans on New Year's Day.
The assailant is suspected to be former US military veteran, 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Jabbar, who had been inspired by the Islamic State terrorist group.
Danielle Greyman-Kennard, Corinne Baum, and Reuters contributed to this report.