ISIS ‘ link’ to 2 gunmen shot dead in Texas attack?
A fighter for the ISIS said in a tweet that ‘ 2 of our brothers just opened fire at the Prophet Muhammad ( s. A. W.) art exhibition in Texas,’ according to the SITE
Garland ( Texas), May 4: The United States police and FBI on Monday searched the apartment of one of two gunmen shot dead on Sunday after they allegedly opened fire with assault rifles outside a Texas exhibit of caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad.
There was no claim of responsibility for Sunday’s failed assault, but US- based terror monitoring group SITE reported that a known member of the ISIS jihadist group had boasted the attack was carried out by ISIS supporters.
In a series of tweets, Abu Hussain Al- Britani, whom SITE identified as British ISIS fighter Junaid Hussain, claimed that “two of our brothers just opened fire” in Texas.
A Twitter account that may have been used by one of the shooters appeared to mention the attack before it happened and claimed allegiance to the ISIS chief.
Despite the claims, the Texas police and the FBI said they were working to determine if the attack was a terrorist incident.
Garland ( Texas), May 4: The Texas police shot dead two suspected Islamist extremists who opened fire outside an exhibition of cartoons of the Prophet Muhammed staged by an anti- Muslim group.
While there was no claim of responsibility for Sunday’s failed assault, caricatures of Muhammed have previously inspired attacks by gunmen with extremist Islamist views.
Terror monitoring group SITE reported that a known member of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, now known as the Islamic State, had boasted the attack was carried out by supporters of the hardline movement.
A fighter for the ISIS said in a tweet that “2 of our brothers just opened fire at the Prophet Muhammad( s. A. W.) art exhibition in Texas,” according to the SITE Intelligence Group, a USbased monitoring group.
SITE identified the writer as “Abu Hussain AlBritani,” a name used by British Islamic state fighter Junaid Hussain.
An ABC news affiliate in Phoenix, Arizona, citing an FBI official, said agents raided an apartment thought to belong to one of the gunmen, identified as Elton Simpson.
Simpson, the FBI told ABC, had previously been the subject of a terror investigation and is suspected of sending a Tweet marked “# TexasAttack” before the shooting.
Commentators were quick to draw parallels to a January shooting at the French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo in Paris that killed 12 people and wounded 11 more.
US authorities are investigating and the police said it was still unclear if the attack was related to the event. The White House said President Barack Obama had been briefed.
A group called the American Freedom Defence Initiative ( AFDI) — which is listed by civil rights watchdog the Southern Poverty Law Centre and an anti- Muslim hate group — organised the event in a suburb of Dallas.
It also featured Dutch farright politician Geert Wilders, who has been outspoken against Muslim immigration in Europe and has been threatened by radical groups.
The police said two men drove up to the conference centre in Garland — where AFDI was displaying entries to a contest to caricature Muhammed — jumped out and opened fire on a security guard.
“Garland police officers engaged the gunmen, who were both shot and killed,” the city of Garland said in a statement.
The guard was shot in the ankle, treated at a hospital and released, the city said.
Local police said the shootout lasted only seconds, and organisers said they had prepared extra security for the event.
“I am shocked. I just spoke for half- an- hour about the cartoons, Islam and freedom of speech and I had just left the premises,” Mr Wilders told AFP in an email.
“This is an attack on the liberties of all of us!” Mr Wilders wrote, adding that he hoped it was not related to a notorious hit- list circulated by Al Qaeda supporters with his name on it. The Dutch politician said he would return to the Netherlands on Monday but plans to come back to the United States next week for another speaking engagement.
Many Muslims find depictions of the Prophet Muhammed offensive and such cartoons have triggered violent protests in the past.
The
Danish
daily Jyllands- Posten published 12 satirical cartoons in 2005, prompting deadly protests in some Muslim countries. Similar images were also published in French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo in Paris, before and after the January attack.
About 200 people were inside the event, according to local police spokesman Joe Harn.
The first suspect was shot dead immediately, while the second was shot after reaching for his backpack. The police said it suspected the gunmen’s vehicle might contain an “incendiary device” and a bomb squad was on the scene.