Islamic State group claims Las Vegas attack

BEIRUT — The Islamic State group claimed yesterday that the shooting massacre in Las Vegas was carried out by one of its "soldiers" who had "converted to Islam" months ago.

"The executor of the Las Vegas attack is a soldier of the Islamic State and he carried out the operation as a response" to calls to target countries fighting the jihadists, Islamic State's propaganda outlet Amaq said on the Telegram online messaging service.

It dubbed 64-year-old Stephen Paddock, who shot dead at least 58 people from a high-rise hotel window on the Las Vegas Strip, a "soldier of the caliphate" with the nom de guerre Abu Abdel Bar alAmriki.

"The author of the Las Vegas attack converted to Islam a few months ago," Amaq said in a series of messages.

"From a hotel overlooking a music concert, [Paddock] opened fire on one of the groups, leaving 600 dead or injured, until using up his ammunition and becoming a martyr."

The group provided no evidence to back up its claims, and US security officials remained cautious amid no other signs to connect Paddock to the jihadists.

Early in their investigation police said they had no information to link him with international terror groups.

In response to a query, Central Intelligence Agency spokesman Jonathan Liu said they were aware of the Islamic state claim.

"We advise caution on jumping to conclusions before the facts are in," Liu said.

Islamic State has moved quickly to claim credit for a number of recent attacks around the world, suggesting the "soldiers" were acting under their inspiration.