"The Islamic State claimed responsibility Tuesday for the thwarted attack outside a prophet Muhammad cartoon contest near Dallas, threatening to carry out “worse and more bitter” violence on American soil.
"The authenticity of the claim — announced on a Syria-based radio station operated by the militant group — could not be immediately verified.
"U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, suspect that the Islamic State did not direct the attack, but theorize the gunmen were inspired by the terrorist group’s propaganda, which includes an online English-language magazine. In recent months, the FBI has charged several people with alleged attempts to stage attacks in the United States.
"Sunday’s shootout in Texas represented the first time the Islamic State has announced links to a high-profile attack in the United States.
“ 'Two soldiers … of the caliphate attacked an exhibit in Garland in American Texas, and this exhibit was holding a contest for drawings offensive to the prophet Muhammad,” the militant group said on its al-Bayan radio station, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors radical factions around the world." . . .
"The authenticity of the claim — announced on a Syria-based radio station operated by the militant group — could not be immediately verified.
"U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, suspect that the Islamic State did not direct the attack, but theorize the gunmen were inspired by the terrorist group’s propaganda, which includes an online English-language magazine. In recent months, the FBI has charged several people with alleged attempts to stage attacks in the United States.
"Sunday’s shootout in Texas represented the first time the Islamic State has announced links to a high-profile attack in the United States.
“ 'Two soldiers … of the caliphate attacked an exhibit in Garland in American Texas, and this exhibit was holding a contest for drawings offensive to the prophet Muhammad,” the militant group said on its al-Bayan radio station, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors radical factions around the world." . . .
. . . "The winner of the cartoon contest was Bosch Fawstin, a New York native born to Albanian Muslim immigrants. His entry featured a scowling, turbaned Muhammad saying: “You can’t draw me!”
"At the bottom of the cartoon he wrote: “That’s why I draw you.”
"The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for dozens of major attacks and slayings in Europe, North Africa and elsewhere. In October, a gunman shot and killed a ceremonial guard at a soldiers memorial in the Canadian capital of Ottawa before storming the nearby Parliament building, where he was fatally shot. Some investigators described the attacker as a potential “lone wolf” militant inspired by the Islamic State, but Canadian officials later said there were no credible links to the group."
No comments:
Post a Comment