New Orleans: FBI probes ‘terrorist’ links in truck attack that killed 15 people
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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).
![[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.]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/c387d40b841ac5e164e7ea7bb6d65789e385855b/0_0_5088_3392/master/5088.jpg?width=465&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
Officials said they were searching for accomplices but gave few details. 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.
