Islamic State has hailed the man who drove his truck into a busy New Orleans street early on New Year's Day, killing 14 people, the group said in a digital newsletter on Thursday that its online propaganda had inspired the attack.
The group said the attacker, who attacked pedestrians on Bourbon Street, was “influenced by the discourse and messages of the Islamic State.” but his message was content to take responsibility.
A news release obtained by the Counterterrorism Project mocked the American news media for “holding their breath” while waiting for ISIS to take over.
While the ISIS message did not directly mention New Orleans, it described the attack on an American and referenced Meta glasses. The FBI identified Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar as the perpetrator of the attack. Meta was wearing glasses. and The Anti-Extremism Project reported on this The ISIS message referred to the attack in New Orleans.
The truck driven by Mr Jabbar, a 42-year-old US Army veteran from Texas, had an ISIS flag on it. Mr. Jabbar, who was killed in a shootout with New Orleans police, also left a chilling message to his family telling them he had joined a terrorist group.
Although authorities have denied that Mr. Jabbar had any active ties to the terrorist group, the FBI said he was “100 percent inspired by ISIS.”
It is not clear what online content Mr Jabbar was consuming before the attack, but ISIS weekly newsletters as part of a complex media operation that keeps distant factions in touch.
Experts say this latest claim is unusual for the group.
“Unlike other attacks in the past where ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attack, in this case the group said the attacker was inspired by ISIS's propaganda messages, but did not claim a direct connection,” Joshua said. Fisher-Birch, a researcher at the Countering Extremism Project.
Mr Fisher-Birch said the ISIS statement's emphasis on the importance of people translating and sharing ISIS-related content “speaks to efforts to continue the spread of the group's official messaging and supporters' unofficial propaganda efforts”.
He added that the article contains an open call for future attacks during events and holidays.
Aaron Boxerman, Neil MacFarquhar and Alyssa J. Rubin contributed to the report.