09.30 CET
FBI probes
'terrorist' links in New Orleans truck-ramming that killed 15
A US army
veteran with an Islamic State (IS) flag and “hellbent” on carnage steered a
pickup truck into a crowd of New Year revelers in New Orleans on Wednesday,
killing at least 15 people and injuring dozens, officials said.
The FBI
identified the attacker as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a 42-year-old US citizen from
Texas. He appeared to have been a real estate agent working in Houston and had
served as an IT specialist in the military, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Officials
said they were searching for accomplices but gave few details.
FBI
agents walk near a police car near the site where 15 people were killed by a
man driving a truck in an attack during New Year's celebrations, in New
Orleans, Louisiana.
FBI
agents walk near a police car near the site where 15 people were killed by a
man driving a truck in an attack during New Year's celebrations, in New
Orleans, Louisiana. Photograph: Eduardo Muñoz/Reuters
Police
Supt Anne Kirkpatrick described Jabbar as a “terrorist,” and the FBI said “an
Isis flag was located in the vehicle,” using another name for the IS jihadist
group.
US
president Joe Biden, describing the attack as “despicable,” said Jabbar had
posted videos online hours before “indicating that he was inspired by Isis.”
Biden
also said that law enforcement agencies were probing any possible links between
the attack and the explosion later on Wednesday of a Tesla Cybertruck outside a
hotel owned by US president-elect Donald Trump in Las Vegas that killed one
person, though he cautioned that none had been found so far.
Officials
said a manhunt was under way, with FBI agent Alethea Duncan warning that
authorities “do not believe that Jabbar was solely responsible.”
Louisiana
governor, Jeff Landry, said: “We’re hunting some bad people down.”
The FBI
said it was conducting search warrants in New Orleans “and other states.”
Earlier, the bureau’s field office in Houston said it was conducting activity
“related” to the New Orleans attack.
An FBI
spokesperson told AFP that 15 people had been killed in the attack, citing the
New Orleans coroner’s office.
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