FBI Warns of Risk Islamic State Will Exploit New Orleans Attack
- Officials say suspect Jabbar pledged allegiance to group
- US has kept troops in Syria to halt Islamic State resurgence
Police cordon off the area around the site of the attack in New Orleans, Louisiana, on Jan. 1.
Photographer: Matthew Hinton/AFP/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
US officials are warning that Islamic State will try to use the deadly New Year’s attack in New Orleans to spur more acts of violence, even as they say there’s no sign the group directed the incident, according to an assessment obtained by Bloomberg News.
Authorities say the suspect in the attack, US Army veteran Shamsud-Din Jabbar, posted videos online pledging support for the group before driving a Ford pickup truck into a crowded French Quarter street during New Year’s celebrations, killing 15 people. Officials said he had an Islamic State flag in the rented vehicle.