IS May Try To Exploit New Orleans Attack, Warns US

US officials are warning that Islamic State (IS) will try to use the deadly New Year's attack in New Orleans to spur more acts of violence, even as they say there's no sign the group directed the incident, according to an assessment obtained by Bloomberg News.

- Bloomberg

NEW ORLEANS:

Authorities say the suspect in the attack, US Army veteran Shamsud-Din Jabbar, posted videos online pledging support for the group before driving a Ford pickup truck into a crowded French Quarter street during New Year's celebrations, killing 15 people. Officials said he had an Islamic State flag in the rented vehicle.

The assault was the second deadliest on US soil linked to a foreign terrorist group since the September 11, 2001 attacks by Al Qaeda and has been celebrated by Islamic State supporters online, the assessment from the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Joint Terrorism Task Force shows.