IS claims responsibility for Texas cartoon attack

[webfact]

IS claims responsibility for Texas cartoon attack

BEIRUT (AP) — The Islamic State group is claiming responsibility for an attack at a center near Dallas, Texas, exhibiting cartoon depictions of the Prophet Muhammad.

An audio statement on Tuesday on the extremist group's Al Bayan radio station says that "two soldiers of the caliphate" carried out Sunday's attack. It did not provide details and it was unclear whether the group was opportunistically claiming the attack as its own.

Two suspects in Sunday's attack in the Dallas suburb of Garland were shot dead after opening fire outside the center.

The IS statement says: "We tell America that what is coming is more bitter and harder and you will see from the soldiers of the Caliphate what harms you."


-- (c) Associated Press 2015-05-05

[zydeco]

Yes, their heavily armed soldiers outfitted in body armor were taken down by a Texas traffic cop in a matter of seconds. Failure. Next time, I'm guessing they'll go for a softer target where people and police go all introspective on guns, the use of force, and where civic leaders go all mushy and inclusive--until they're slaughtered like trussed up Thanksgiving turkeys. It would be nice to see Garland become the Guadalcanal of this war against Muslim terror, the place where their relentless advance was stopped and turned back until entirely annihilated.

[Steely Dan]

Cartoon attack?! If I was the guard taking out the loony over toons I'd have been tempted to say 'That's all folks' in a manner such as this.

[MaxYakov]

Cartoon attack?! If I was the guard taking out the loony over toons I'd have been tempted to say 'That's all folks' in a manner such as this.

Talking pigs! It is forbidden!

[NeverSure]

The IS statement says: "We tell America that what is coming is more bitter and harder and you will see from the soldiers of the Caliphate what harms you."

Edited May 5, 2015 by NeverSure

[RT555]

I was a chef in Dubai, and we had a pork kitchen, and used to put pork bacon drippings in their food.....they loved it.

[slipperylobster]

The IS statement says: "We tell America that what is coming is more bitter and harder and you will see from the soldiers of the Caliphate what harms you."

Them Texans have more firepower than anything IS has heard of. Wait until all them Texan hunters break out their scopes n' weapons.

Lots of them patrolling the border...right now.

Edited May 6, 2015 by slipperylobster

[webfact]

Doubts raised about Islamic State's claim in Texas attack
By JULIE WATSON and RYAN VAN VELZER

PHOENIX (AP) — The Islamic State group claimed responsibility Tuesday for the assault on a Texas cartoon contest that featured images of the Prophet Muhammad, but counterterrorism experts said IS has a history of asserting involvement in attacks in which it had no operational role.

That suggests the two gunmen could have carried out their own lone wolf-style strike before they were shot and killed at the scene of Sunday's shooting in the Dallas suburb of Garland.

Federal officials identified the pair as Elton Simpson and Nadir Soofi, both Americans who lived in Phoenix.

Rep. Michael McCaul, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, said a Twitter account linked to Simpson included images of Anwar al-Awlaki, an American-born radical cleric killed in a CIA drone strike in Yemen.

Among the hashtags used by the account was "#texasattack." And one of the final tweets was: "May Allah accept us as mujahideen," or holy warriors.

"Was he on the radar? Sure he was," McCaul said from Turkey, where he was leading a congressional delegation. "The FBI has got a pretty good program to monitor public social media."

But McCaul said he is not ready to say law enforcement missed any red flags.

The evidence does not indicate the attack was directed by the Islamic State group "but rather inspired by them," said McCaul, who was briefed on the investigation by federal law enforcement officials. "This is the textbook case of what we're most concerned about."

A federal law enforcement official told The Associated Press that authorities had an open investigation into Simpson at the time of the shooting. The official, who was not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation by name and spoke on condition of anonymity, also said investigators will be studying the contacts the men had prior to the shooting, both with associates in the U.S. and abroad, to determine any additional terror-related ties.

White House press secretary Josh Earnest said U.S. officials are working to counter terrorist efforts to use social media to radicalize individuals in the United States.

IS recently urged those in the United States, Europe and Australia who cannot safely travel to fight in Syria and Iraq to carry out jihad in the countries where they live. An audio statement on the extremist group's Al Bayan radio station called the men "two soldiers of the caliphate."

The shooting appeared to be another example of a "do-it-yourself" jihadist whose plots are often hard for law enforcement and intelligence agencies to stop, said Mitchell Silber, executive managing director for K2 Intelligence and former director of intelligence analysis for the New York City police department.

"It's very tough to detect in advance, which means we are and will continue to be susceptible to lone actors who don't give us much warning to thwart them," he said.

The cartoon contest had been expected to draw outrage from the Muslim community. According to mainstream Islamic tradition, any physical depiction of the Prophet Muhammad — even a respectful one — is considered blasphemous, and drawings similar to those featured at the Texas event have sparked violence around the world.

The 31-year-old Simpson and 34-year-old Soofi were wearing body armor, and one of the men shot a security officer in the leg before a single Garland police officer fired on the two gunmen. After his initial shots, nearby SWAT officers also fired, authorities said.

The security officer was treated at a hospital and released.

Simpson was arrested in 2010 after being the focus of a four-year terror investigation. But despite amassing more than 1,500 hours of recorded conversations, including Simpson's discussions about fighting nonbelievers for Allah and plans to link up with "brothers" in Somalia, the government prosecuted him on only one minor charge — lying to a federal agent. He was sentenced to three years of probation and ordered to pay $600 in fines and court fees.

A University of Utah spokeswoman confirmed Tuesday that Soofi was an undergraduate pre-medicine major enrolled from fall of 1998 to the summer of 2003. Spokeswoman Maria O'Mara said Soofi did not earn a degree.

Utah court records show Soofi had several brushes with police during his time in the state. He pleaded guilty to possession of alcohol by a minor, alcohol-related reckless driving and driving on a suspended license in 2001, court records show, and misdemeanor assault the following year.

Simpson had worshipped at the Islamic Community Center of Phoenix for about a decade, but he quit showing up over the past two or three months, the president of the mosque told The Associated Press.

The center's president, Usama Shami, said Simpson would play basketball with mosque members and was involved with the community. Soofi owned a nearby pizza business and would stop in to pray occasionally, he said.

"They didn't show any signs of radicalization," Shami said.

Sharon Soofi, the mother of Soofi, told The Dallas Morning News that her son may have somehow snapped.

"The hard thing is to comprehend is why he would do this and leave an 8-year-old son behind," said his mother, who now lives in a small town southwest of Houston.

In a statement released late Monday by Phoenix law firm Osborn Maledon, Simpson's family said it is "struggling to understand" what happened.

"We are sure many people in this country are curious to know if we had any idea of Elton's plans," the statement said. "To that we say, without question, we did not."

Terrorism expert Ben Venzke, who has been tracking terrorist groups for two decades, said jihadists have shifted their tactics to include not only major targets — like al-Qaida's attack on the World Trade Center — but also small ones that are more easily accessible.

In December, for instance, Man Monis, an Iranian-born, self-styled cleric with a long criminal history, took 18 people hostage inside a Sydney cafe, forced them to hold up a flag bearing the Islamic declaration of faith and demanded he be delivered a flag of the Islamic State group. Monis and two hostages were killed.
___

Watson reported from San Diego.
___

Associated Press writers Ken Dilanian, Eric Tucker and Nancy Benac in Washington, Brian Skoloff and Paul Davenport in Phoenix, Jamie Stengle in Garland, Texas, and Hannah Cushman in Chicago contributed to this report.


-- (c) Associated Press 2015-05-06

[MikeTexas]

The US government has a history of downplaying terrorist activities

[brling]

The US government has a history of downplaying terrorist activities

Yes, but it was only the "JV team".

[oneday]

Who cares...the longer is stays in the news the more it benefits IS so just drop it.

[ggt]

"do-it-yourself" jihadist!

They did it themselves...and ran into professionally trained police officers...Allah would be so proud of their mindless lunacy...

[lust]

Losers couldn't hit anything and now they are dead lol.

[zydeco]

These terrorists were no more incompetent or untrained than the ones in France. The difference was the police. In France, a poorly trained policeman had a gun he likely rarely shot. It was there as much to scare people as to use. The traffic cop in Texas grew up in a gun culture. His service pistol was likely as comfortable to him as his thumb or ring finger. That was the difference.

[impulse]

These terrorists were no more incompetent or untrained than the ones in France. The difference was the police. In France, a poorly trained policeman had a gun he likely rarely shot. It was there as much to scare people as to use. The traffic cop in Texas grew up in a gun culture. His service pistol was likely as comfortable to him as his thumb or ring finger. That was the difference.

Really more because the producers of the venue they attacked expected the attack, and beefed up security a lot more than a news organization in France would for day to day operation.

I salute the cop who took these guys out, but even as a Texan, I'm not smug that the next one will go the same way. Especially if they attack an organization that's just operating day to day.

Not the same time (or the same Texas), but the guy in the UT bell tower unleashed a lot of carnage before the Texas cops were able to take him out. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Whitman

[Srikcir]

Has ISIS yet claimed how it has forced the sun to set each day? Or taken credit for the earthquake in Nepal?

It seems that as their success in Syria/Iraq are being reversed, they must reach farther out into the world to claim some successes.

[wooloomooloo]

On a positive note, a lone gunman can only kill or injure so many single-handedly. Even a cabal can only get so far.

I personally won't be intimidated by lunatics with guns and bombs as they don't frighten me. My mother died when I was 4 years old and my sister at the age of 27. Nothing can usurp that lifelong feeling of loss. I was no longer scared of dying after my mother died.

I was witness to the unedited video of the poor guy armed with a mere pistol taking on the two vermin armed with AK-47s in Paris who happily dispatched him with a single shot to the head.

Was glad to see them eventually gunned down like the dogs they were and eventually their mate in the Jewish supermarket.

Keep them coming, keep the bombs coming, as they won't win. And stop all this nonsense talk of prodding the bear and suchlike. You can't justify killing for the sake of it. In fact, it's better to draw them out and see what's what.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is hopefully, any day now, going to receive the death sentence. Complete lack of silence on this forum about this particular case, but, why not the death sentence? He killed and maimed for his cause and now he runs away from his tenets and blames his brother.

Edited May 6, 2015 by wooloomooloo

[NickJ]

All complete horsesh@#...

There is a real reason why America has not been jihadized...Its because of the countless millions of hours our Intelligence agencies and law enforcement works rou d the clock......unsung heros.....

[impulse]

All complete horsesh@#...

There is a real reason why America has not been jihadized...Its because of the countless millions of hours our Intelligence agencies and law enforcement works rou d the clock......unsung heros.....

Oops. Referring to the intelligence agencies,they missed it on this one. Again. Like they fumbled the 9/11 bunch, and the shoe bomber and the underwear bomber.

All the while trampling the constitutional rights of millions of innocent Americans in gathering so much data they can't actually, like, do anything with it. Kind of like the problem the Stasi had.

And that's not to mention pissing off allies all over the world who may be handy to have on our side some day (trusting what we're telling them).

Edited May 6, 2015 by impulse

[Chicog]

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is hopefully, any day now, going to receive the death sentence. Complete lack of silence on this forum about this particular case, but, why not the death sentence? He killed and maimed for his cause and now he runs away from his tenets and blames his brother.

He deserves to die, and his lawyer has to put up some kind of defence, it's his job and one of the basic tenets of American justice.

Even if he does not face the death penalty, I rather suspect he'll end up wishing he had.

Not much to discuss really.

[wooloomooloo]

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is hopefully, any day now, going to receive the death sentence. Complete lack of silence on this forum about this particular case, but, why not the death sentence? He killed and maimed for his cause and now he runs away from his tenets and blames his brother.

He deserves to die, and his lawyer has to put up some kind of defence, it's his job and one of the basic tenets of American justice.

Even if he does not face the death penalty, I rather suspect he'll end up wishing he had.

Not much to discuss really.

I've witnessed many a case in the UK and US whereby terrorist killers deny responsibility and certainly nothing to do with their defence lawyers.

If you kill and are so entrenched in your beliefs, then I'll have full respect for those that plead their culpability. Not one have I know to plead their obvious guilt. That is the sure sign of a coward.

The closest it came was Michael Adebolajo. Even then he pleaded not guilty and his defence was that this was a war. Let's be reminded that he ran over a young British soldier in a car and then inflicted multiple stab wounds and subsequently attempted to behead the poor guy in broad daylight along with his partner in crime. By the way, I used to live in Woolwich, about a minute's walk from the scene.

Chicog, you are valiant in your defence of scum for which I completely respect but it's also hard to determine where exactly you're coming from. It seems to change by the day. Good luck.

Edited May 6, 2015 by wooloomooloo

[HeijoshinCool]

Nothing like taking credit for a severely failed mission. Now we're all really scared.

[Chicog]

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is hopefully, any day now, going to receive the death sentence. Complete lack of silence on this forum about this particular case, but, why not the death sentence? He killed and maimed for his cause and now he runs away from his tenets and blames his brother.

He deserves to die, and his lawyer has to put up some kind of defence, it's his job and one of the basic tenets of American justice.

Even if he does not face the death penalty, I rather suspect he'll end up wishing he had.

Not much to discuss really.

I've witnessed many a case in the UK and US whereby terrorist killers deny responsibility and certainly nothing to do with their defence lawyers.

If you kill and are so entrenched in your beliefs, then I'll have full respect for those that plead their culpability. Not one have I know to plead their obvious guilt. That is the sure sign of a coward.

The closest it came was Michael Adebolajo. Even then he pleaded not guilty and his defence was that this was a war. Let's be reminded that he ran over a young British soldier in a car and then inflicted multiple stab wounds and subsequently attempted to behead the poor guy in broad daylight along with his partner in crime. By the way, I used to live in Woolwich, about a minute's walk from the scene.

Chicog, you are valiant in your defence of scum for which I completely respect but it's also hard to determine where exactly you're coming from. It seems to change by the day. Good luck.

Where am I defending him when I say "He deserves to die". Is that too ambiguous for you?

All I said he has the right to a defence the same as any other suspect.

The legal system is there to protect the innocent as well you know.

I visited the scene last summer, it is quite a spot to stand and ponder.

Edited May 6, 2015 by Chicog

[wooloomooloo]

Sorry, Chicog, but your posts over the last few days appear entirely ambiguous to us mere mortals and not just in this thread. Or am I missing something?

[cookee68]

I don't believe the IS had anything to do with just a couple of fruit cake Muslims, IS is just jumping on the wagon of bull shit, it makes them look good, how the hell do they know it was a cartoon of the paedophile Mohamed, I mean prophet Mohamed, because nobody knows what he looks like, unless they see his arse hanging out of a childs bed, because nobody has a picture of him, don't bother replying back because I cant see your notifications, because for some reason my notifications don't tell me, I have tried all the settings, still don't work

[slipperylobster]

Losers couldn't hit anything and now they are dead lol.

They were buried with flags....which read..."Som nam Na !"

Edited May 7, 2015 by slipperylobster

[connda]

"do-it-yourself" jihadist!

They did it themselves...and ran into professionally trained police officers...Allah would be so proud of their mindless lunacy...

Don't mess with Texas. Nice shooting to the officers.

[Steely Dan]

These terrorists were no more incompetent or untrained than the ones in France. The difference was the police. In France, a poorly trained policeman had a gun he likely rarely shot. It was there as much to scare people as to use. The traffic cop in Texas grew up in a gun culture. His service pistol was likely as comfortable to him as his thumb or ring finger. That was the difference.

Draw your own conclusions (if drawing is allowed) as to why the first and second are under attack.