Author: Alissa J. Rubin
Published on: 04/01/2025 | 00:00:00

AI Summary:
On New Year’s Day, a man with an Islamic State flag killed at least 14 people when he drove into a crowd in New Orleans. Authorities say there was no evidence that the man, Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar, had active connections to the terrorist group. He posted several videos to his Facebook account before his attack in which he pledged allegiance to ISIS. Islamic State’s sophisticated media operation is the glue that holds the disparate branches together. Experts say that while it is doubtful that the media operation has a physical headquarters, it is highly centralized and controlled by its media directorate. Much of its output appears to come from affiliates in Africa, which have recently been the most active in terms of attacks. Al Naba was initially published through the messaging app Telegram. Supporters of the group have also disseminated messages on Twitter, Facebook pages and other social media platforms. T he Islamic State has used decentralized internet tools that are harder to shut down. Al Qaeda, which the Islamic State split from in 2013, revived a campaign directed at its global adherents: ‘kill them wherever you find them’ The idea, which first surfaced in 2015, was to encourage would-be followers to commit acts of jihad at home rather than traveling to Iraq and Syria. It was notorious for posting grisly depictions of violence, such as the beheading of James Wright Foley. Hayat Tahrir al Sham and other rebel groups say they should take over the role of guarding Islamic State prisoners in eastern Syria and manage the camps holding some 40,000 Islamic State fighters and family members. The Islamic State recently renewed its “Breaking the Walls” media campaign. If that succeeds, Mr. Zelin said, it would be a “disaster” An Islamic State flag found in the suspect’s truck has raised the specter that the international terrorist group played a role in the attack. Officials said that bollards along a section of Bourbon Street had been removed for repairs in preparation for the Super Bowl. Police cars had been set up to block access, but the attacker drove around them.

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