New Orleans attack suspect named as police probe Islamic State link

From the Telegraph

The suspect in the attack on New Orleans has been named as Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar by US media, as police investigate a possible link to Islamic State.

Ten people were killed and at least 35 injured when the suspect ploughed a white Ford pickup truck through a crowd on Bourbon Street in the early hours of Wednesday morning as people celebrated the new year.

Jabbar was first named by New Orleans newspaper The Times-Picayune, who said he was 42-years old and carrying an IS flag during the attack.

Police said he was killed in a shoot-out with officers after he exited the vehicle and fired a weapon.

The FBI earlier said that they were investigating the incident as an “act of terror” and that “improvised explosive devices” had been found at the scene.

Investigators are examining what appears to be “furled Islamic State flag” that was found on the attacker’s vehicle, the New York Times reports, citing law enforcement officials speaking on condition of anonymity.

A “white stick or pipe with a black cloth wrapped around it” was found attached to the rear of the white Ford F-150 Lightning used in the attack, NBC earlier said.

Photos taken after the attack show what appears to be a grey jacket wrapped around the stick on the back of the truck. An earlier video however showed something that looked like a black flag tied to the stick, reports said.

It is not clear if the pole and jacket or cloth was placed there before or after the attack.

The FBI have comfirmed that the black cloth was indeed the flag of Islamic State

An Islamic State flag was found in the pickup truck that was driven into a crowd of partygoers in New Orleans on Wednesday morning, the FBI said.