TERRORISMIslamic State Group-Inspired New Orleans Attack Revives Familiar Fears
Even before the shock from the deadly New Year’s Day terror attack in New Orleans could subside, early indications from the investigation pointed to a scenario U.S. law enforcement and security officials have long feared –a plot at least inspired by the Islamic State terror group.
Even before the shock from the deadly New Year’s Day terror attack in New Orleans could subside, early indications from the investigation pointed to a scenario U.S. law enforcement and security officials have long feared – a plot at least inspired by the Islamic State terror group.
The FBI Wednesday confirmed reports the suspect had planted an IS flag in the pickup truck he used to plow into a crowd on Bourbon Street in the early hours of Wednesday morning before he was killed during a shootout with police.
Late Wednesday, U.S. President Joe Biden said the FBI found the suspect had taken other actions “mere hours before the attack” to make his loyalty known.
Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a 42-year-old U.S. citizen and former Army reservist, had “posted videos on social media indicating that it was inspired by ISIS,” Biden said, using another name for the terror group.
“The situation is very fluid,” Biden added. “The law enforcement and intelligence community are continuing to look for any connections, associations or co-conspirators,” he said.
However, that investigation included the execution of search warrants at various locations in New Orleans and other states, an operation by the FBI and other law enforcement officials at a traffic intersection in Houston and questions as to whether there could be any connection to an attempt to blow up a Tesla Cybertruck in front of the Trump Hotel in Las Vegas.
Regardless of additional conspirators or connections, details of the New Orleans attack itself correspond with tactics long espoused by IS propagandists.
“What we saw fits in with the common pattern we’ve seen from the Islamic State for a while,” said Aaron Zelin, a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, who specializes in jihadism. “They’ve been calling for car ramming attacks for years.”
“Every day they put out pushes for supporters, prospective recruits, anyone to do something on their behalf,” Zelin told VOA.
One of the first IS-linked attacks using a vehicle as a weapon took place in Nice, France, in 2016. A 31-year-old Tunisian-born Frenchman who was divorced and suffered from depression plowed into a Bastille Day celebration, killing more than 80 people.
Months later, a 24-year-old Tunisian man used a truck to drive into crowds at a Christmas market in Berlin, killing 13 people. He, too, posted a video pledging allegiance to IS before carrying out the attack.
