US officials warn about copycat terrorist attacks – ABC
US law enforcement agencies fear the deadly New Year’s attack in New Orleans could trigger a copycat incident, according to a joint intelligence bulletin issued by the FBI and Department of Homeland Security, ABC has reported.
On January 1, during New Year’s celebrations, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a 42-year-old US Army veteran from Texas, drove a rented Ford F-150 pickup truck into a crowd, resulting in 14 fatalities and injuring around 35 others. After crashing the vehicle, Jabbar exited and engaged in a shootout with police, during which he was fatally shot. An Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) flag was found attached to the truck. Also, in a video made before the attack, Jabbar said he had joined ISIS.
According to ABC, the intelligence bulletin stresses that ISIS has been promoting vehicle ramming attacks since 2014, and has intensified calls for low-tech, mass casualty assaults in recent months, particularly in light of the Israel-Hamas conflict.
The bulletin reportedly provides law enforcement with guidance on recognizing signs of potential attacks, including pre-operational surveillance and the use of fraudulent documents or credit to rent vehicles. While investigators have connected Jabbar to IS-inspired motives, there is currently no evidence of the involvement of additional co-conspirators.
The investigation into the January 1 attack reportedly revealed bomb-making materials at a residence linked to Jabbar in Houston. The authorities have since indicated that they do not believe any other suspects were involved.
The most notorious IS ramming attack took place in 2016 in the French city of Nice. A Tunisian-born man drove a truck into a crowd celebrating Bastille Day, killing 86 and injuring 458.
Lat year, a 50-year-old Saudi man drove his car through a crowd at a Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, leaving five people dead, including one child, and over 200 injured. German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser later said there are signs that the suspect in the deadly attack is mentally ill.
