America
Texas gunman linked himself to Islamic State
Texas
gunman linked himself to Islamic State
Washington, May 5 Two gunmen, who were killed while trying to
attack a cartoon contest on Prophet Mohammed in Texas, were roommates, one of
whom had linked himself to Islamic State fighters in a tweet posted just before
the attack.
The suspects in Sunday's attack have been identified as Elton Simpson and Nadir
Soofi, his roommate in an apartment in Phoenix, Arizona, CNN reported citing
federal law enforcement sources.
While Simpson was convicted of making a false statement involving international
and domestic terrorism in 2011, Soofi was not on the FBI's radar, officials
said.
Investigators were combing through evidence retrieved from the shooters'
Arizona home to help piece together a timeline of how their plot came together,
the official said.
Authorities are still trying to determine the suspects' motives, US Secretary
of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson said Monday.
At this point, he said, one thing appears clear: A quick-thinking police
officer "likely saved a number of innocent lives."
Simpson and Soofi never made it inside the Curtis Culwell Centre in Garland,
northeast of Dallas, where in addition to the cartoon contest, a right-wing
Dutch politician who's on an Al Qaeda hit list was speaking Sunday evening.
A traffic officer working after-hours as security for the event and armed only
with a service pistol killed both men, who were wearing body armour and
carrying assault rifles, Garland Police Department spokesman Joe Harn told
reporters Monday.
Investigators haven't revealed what they found in the suspects' apartment, but
Simpson's social media footprint reveals one possible motive; he linked himself
to ISIS in a tweet posted just before the attack.
"May Allah accept us as mujahideen," the tweet said, adding that
Simpson and his fellow attacker had pledged loyalty to "Amirul
Mu'mineen" (the leader of the faithful).
This description likely refers to ISIS leader Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, according
to a CNN terrorism analyst.
After the shooting, an ISIS propagandist that Simpson had earlier asked his
readers to follow tweeted, "Allahu Akbar!!!! 2 of our brothers just opened
fire" at the Texas event.
"If there is no check on the freedom of your speech, then let your hearts
be open to the freedom of our actions," tweeted the propagandist.
He was identified by two American groups that monitor jihadi websites as Junaid
Hussain, a British ISIS fighter in Syria who goes by the name Abu Hussein al
Britani.
In 2011, Simpson was sentenced to three years of probation after his conviction
on the terror-related charge, court records show.