The Islamic State group praised the man who plowed a truck into a busy New Orleans street early on New Year’s Day, killing 14 people, and said in a digital newsletter Thursday that online propaganda inspired the attack. insisted.
The group said the gunman who hit the pedestrian walking on Bourbon Street was “influenced by Islamic State’s rhetoric and messages.” But the message stopped short of claiming responsibility.
A newsletter bulletin obtained by the counter-extremism project, a terrorism watchdog group, appeared to ridicule American news organizations for “holding their breath” while waiting for ISIS to claim an attack.
The ISIS message did not directly mention New Orleans, but it described an attack by an American man and mentioned Metagras. The FBI said the attacker, Shamsud Din Bahar Jabbar, said: He was wearing meta glasses.. and The Counter Extremism Project said: The ISIS message referenced the New Orleans attack.
An ISIS flag was displayed on the truck driven by Jabbar, a 42-year-old U.S. Army veteran from Texas. Jabbar, who was killed in a shootout with New Orleans police, also left a chilling recorded message to his family, telling them he had joined a terrorist group.
Although authorities have denied that Mr. Jabbar has any active ties to terrorist organizations, the FBI has said that Mr. Jabbar is “100 percent inspired by ISIS.”
It is unclear what online content Mr. Jabbar was consuming before the attack, but ISIS publishes a weekly newsletter as part of its sophisticated media operation to keep its far-flung factions connected.
Experts say this latest claim is unusual for the group.
“Unlike other attacks in the past in which ISIS has claimed responsibility, in this case the organization says the attackers were inspired by ISIS propaganda messages, but does not claim there was a direct connection. “No,” Joshua said. Fisher Birch, researcher at the Counter-Extremism Project.
Fisher-Birch said the ISIS statement’s emphasis on the importance of people translating and sharing ISIS content reflects “the continued efforts to disseminate ISIS’ official messages and the unofficial propaganda efforts of its supporters.” “It tells the story.”
He added that the article contains a clarion call for future events and attacks during the holidays.
aaron boxerman, neil mfarquhar and Alyssa J. Rubin Contributed to the report.
