Investigators investigate the deadly New Year'In the same day's terrorist attack in New Orleans, suspect Shamsud Din Jabbar planted an ISIS flag on the back of a pickup truck that he used to mow down dozens of innocent revelers, killing at least 14 of them. announced that he had been killed.
Jabbar, a former Army veteran who served in Afghanistan, joined ISIS earlier this summer and posted several videos on Facebook expressing support for the group before carrying out the heinous attack, said FBI agent Christopher Jabbar. Assistant Secretary General Raja made the announcement on Thursday.
“In the first video, Jabbar explained that he intended to harm his family and friends, but was concerned that news headlines would not focus on the 'war between believers and unbelievers,'” Raja said. said.
Pro-ISIS media outlets called on Muslims in Russia, Europe and the United States to carry out attacks on New Year's Eve. (AP Photo/Getty Images)
ISIS remains a global threat 10 years after declaring a caliphate, US military officials say
But what exactly is ISIS, and how many attacks has it carried out in the United States?
What is ISIS?
ISIS (IS, or the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) is a terrorist organization that broke away from al-Qaeda and has carried out and incited terrorist attacks around the world, causing thousands of casualties, according to the Director of National Intelligence. There is.
The group embraces a Sunni Islamist ideology that aims to establish a global caliphate, a global Islamic state ruled by a strict interpretation of Sharia law.
In addition to terrorist attacks, the group is known for video beheadings and systematic rape and other sexual violence against members of other religions. The group also targets Sunni Muslims who deviate from their strict interpretation of Islam.
Suspect in Cybertruck that exploded at Trump Hotel identified as active-duty US soldier
Under former leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, ISIS had captured an astonishing amount of territory in Iraq and Syria by 2014.
Al-Baghdadi was killed by U.S. Joint Special Operations Command in 2019, and while U.S.-backed forces cleared ISIS from its last stronghold in Syria before declaring victory over ISIS, ISIS remains secretly active in Iraq and on the ground. continues to be active.
The group's roots date back to 2004, when the Iraqi extremist network led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi merged with al-Qaeda to form al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI), a precursor group to ISIS. In 2013, AQI changed its name to ISIS, and in 2014 the group split from al-Qaeda, declared itself a caliphate, and occupied large swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria.
How active is ISIS in the United States?
Experts say the group incentivizes its mentally ill sympathizers to carry out “lone wolf” attacks that blur the line between random crime and terrorism.
ISIS is more decentralized than it was a decade ago, and some experts believe that ISIS is stronger today, in part as a brand, and that both extremist groups and individuals believe that the group itself is They claim that they are inciting attacks that have no role to play.
The group's beliefs and military successes have led armed extremist organizations in Africa, Asia, and Europe to pledge allegiance to it.
ISIS-inspired attacks in the US
ISIS has been responsible for several terrorist attacks on U.S. soil over the past decade. Here are seven.
1. 2016 Pulse Nightclub Massacre – 49 dead
In June 2016, Omar Mateen opened fire on a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, where he was holding a “Latin Night,” killing 49 people and injuring 53, the deadliest terrorist-related mass shooting in U.S. history. It became.
The FBI previously said the suspect carried out the mass shooting in support of ISIS.
Mateen was born in New York in 1986 to Afghan parents and lived in Port St. Lucie, Florida. He died after a three-hour standoff with SWAT team members.
The memorial commemorates the 5th anniversary of the tragic Pulse nightclub massacre in Orlando on June 12, 2021. (George Wilson Photo 2021/Defody Images via Getty Images)
2. Truck attack in New Orleans – 14 killed
Wednesday's terrorist attack in New Orleans was carried out by suspect Shamsud Din Jabbar, who was behind the wheel of a white pickup truck and opened fire on dozens of people who were drinking along the city's famous Bourbon Street. 14 people died.
According to the FBI, Jabbar, a 42-year-old U.S. citizen from Texas, crashed a car loaded with ISIS flags, weapons and possible improvised explosive devices (IEDs) around 3:15 a.m. local time on Wednesday. He drove a rented truck into the crowd. More than 30 other people were injured.
He was later killed in a gunfight with police.
Shamsud Din Jabbar (left) and the crime scene (right). (Kat Ramirez and FBI)
Who is Shamsud Din Jabar? What we know about the New Orleans New Year's terror suspect
4. 2015 San Bernardino shooting — 14 people killed
In 2015, Syed Rizwan Farooq and his wife Tashfeen Malik opened fire at a San Bernardino County Department of Public Health training event and Christmas party, killing 14 people and injuring more than 20 others.
The couple, both Muslims, died after a gunfight with police.
The FBI said the couple were “homegrown violent extremists” inspired by foreign terrorist organizations, but did not specifically say they were inspired by ISIS.
Malik, who was born in Pakistan and was living in the United States on a green card, pledged allegiance to ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi on Facebook during the shooting incident, according to reports at the time. .
He was killed in a gunfight with SWAT team members.
Syed Farooq (left) and his wife Tashfeen Malik. (FBI and California Department of Land Transportation, via AP)
5. 2017 New York City bike path attack — 8 people killed
In 2017, Saifululo Saipov, a native of Uzbekistan, killed eight people in New York City by driving his truck into a bike path filled with cyclists and runners.
Six of the dead were foreign tourists, and 13 others were injured, including a Belgian woman who had both legs amputated. New York prosecutors called the car crash the worst terrorist attack since 9/11.
Inside the truck, police found a black flag, one of the flags flown by Islam's prophet Muhammad, as well as documents indicating allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) terrorist group.
Saipov, a green card holder at the time, was sentenced to 10 life sentences plus 260 years in prison.
In 2017, Saifululo Saipov, a native of Uzbekistan, killed eight people in New York City by driving his truck into a bike path filled with cyclists and runners. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, inset: St. Charles County, Missouri, Department of Corrections)
FBI identifies suspect in terrorist act after Bourbon Street attack
6. 2016 Ohio State University attack — 11 people injured
Abdul Razak Ali Altan, a Somali student, drove his car into a crowd at Ohio State University in November 2016 and stabbed several pedestrians with a butcher knife.
Eleven people were injured in the attack, and Artan was shot and killed by a university police officer.
Law enforcement officials told Fox News at the time that they believe the attackers were “self-radicalized” by ISIS propaganda.
Officials said Mr. Artan also praised U.S.-born al-Qaeda cleric Anwar al-Awlaki as a “hero” and railed against U.S. intervention in Muslim lands in a series of Facebook posts. denounced.
7. 2017 New York City subway bombing — 3 people injured
In 2017, ISIS-inspired Akhaed Ullah set off a pipe bomb that partially exploded in New York City's busiest subway station.
The device targeted a pedestrian tunnel between Times Square and the Port Authority of Manhattan.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Akaed Ullah was convicted of terrorism for detonating a pipe bomb in New York City's busiest subway station. Federal prosecutors are seeking a life sentence for Ullah, a Bangladeshi immigrant. (AP/New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission)
Ullah was arrested after the bomb failed to fully detonate and he suffered severe burns. The explosion caused panic, but caused only minor injuries to three people nearby.
After growing angry at U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East, Ullah became obsessed with online Islamic State propaganda that “glorified brutal and violent stabbings, shootings, and bombings targeting Americans,” prosecutors said. The parties made their case in federal court in Manhattan.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
