The Weekly Episode 4 recap: ISIS explains its’ motive for killing cyclists in 2017

In the fourth episode of FX’s The Weekly series, investigative journalist Rukmini Callimachi sits down with numerous people to discuss what transpired between four ISIS militants and four cyclists on a road in Tajikistan.

Once again, FX’s The Weekly has delivered with yet another amazing episode to look back on. The latest episode entitled “Collision” dealt with some rather controversial issues as lead reporter Rukmini Callimachi from the New York Times investigated a deadly incident between ISIS and four cyclists.

What’s so striking about this particular episode is Callimachi actually interviews members of the Islamic State to get their side of the story. It’s obviously coming from a radical point-of-view but Callimachi had the duty of collecting testimonials from everyone involved, including the perpetrators of the crime.

To sum up the initial incident quickly, Jay Austin and Lauren Geoghegan left their mundane lives behind to cycle around the world. The couple recorded and documented every part of their journey, up until the morning of July 26, 2017.

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On that morning, Geoghegan and Austin were traveling on one side of the road with three fellow cyclists. Everything seemed normal until a car going in the opposite direction made a full u-turn. The five cyclists didn’t think too much of it but that was because they had no idea who was in the car, or what the vehicle’s occupants intended to do.

What ended up happening was four ISIS militants in the car used the vehicle to ram into Austin, Geoghegan, and the other cyclists. The militant men collided into them at full speed, knocking their unassuming victims all across the road, but the horror didn’t end there.

After the car came to a stop, the men got out with knives in hand. They then walked up to the survivors on the road and began stabbing the injured cyclists. By the end, four people were dead and one miraculously survived by jumping out of the way at the last moment. A few weeks later, a video surfaced wherein the Islamic State took credit for the attack, followed by them threatening to commit more acts of terror.

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Now, it’s over a year later and the dilemma has hit a turning point. No major revelations have been made since then, though Callimachi’s investigation provided us with more insight into why ISIS decided to attack innocent bystanders on a highway.

What the New York Times’ reporter finds is that the militants responsible had recently pledged their allegiance to the Islamic State. They were new members of the organization but completely devoted themselves to the cause.

Callimachi uncovers more info about the attackers from a source within Tajikistan. Her source is able to identify the five men who killed Geoghegan and Austin all by name, partly due to them being caught on the border between Tajikistan and Afghanistan.

Strangely enough, it was a group of local villagers who restrained the ISIS militants until police arrived. Unfortunately, the radicals intended to go down in a blaze of glory where they attempted to take down the authorities. The officers then had no choice but to neutralize them.

Further on into Callimachi’s investigation, it’s revealed that one of the attackers was actually captured. Hussein, the man who radicalized the others, turned out to be the last remaining survivor. The downside for Hussein is he’s now facing the maximum penalty for his crimes which is life imprisonment.

Surprisingly, Callimachi is granted permission by the local government to interview Hussein for his side of the story. The striking thing about her questioning is she feels inclined to ask Hussein if he’s speaking of his own accord. She doesn’t say as much but it’s clear that she fears Hussein is being forced into a confession. Signs of Hussein cooperating under strict guidelines become clear when he looks for approval to answer specific questions.

To surmise Hussein’s testimony quickly, it’s pretty much exactly what you’d expect of a radical militant from the Islamic State. He pledged his life to Jihad, committed to the cause, and had to do anything that his superiors commanded of him. His attack on the tourists in Tajikistan was merely the last assigned to him.

Despite implying that he was just following an order, Hussein makes it quite clear that he shared — or still shares — the beliefs of his Muslim brothers in ISIS. He goes over the main credo of their organization, reciting it from memory. Hussein then explains that he had further contact with the cyclists than previously thought.

Apparently, Hussein met with the cyclists at a gas station not far from the attack. He questioned them about their nationalities, determining quite easily that they were Americans. Once that information was out in the open, he’d found his victims.

The last and most important bit of Hussein’s testimonial is his response to Callimachi’s question of whether or not he feels any regret for his actions. The rather calm demeanor on his face gives us the impression that his extreme personality has been dialed down since in prison, but we learn that Hussein still harbors a deep hatred for Americans, evidenced by his response of wanting to see more people die.

What did you think of The Weekly’s latest episode? Let us know in the comments section below.

The Weekly airs Sundays on FX. Episodes are uploaded to Hulu the following day. The Weekly is now a Hulu Original. For more on this FX series, follow us on the Hulu Watcher Twitter Account @HuluWatcherFS or on the Hulu Watcher Facebook Page.

(Source: New York Times)