Texas special forces at Mohammad caricature event in Texas.
Photo: Associated Press
IS claims responsibility for Texas cartoon attack
Terror group says on radio show that 'two soldiers of the caliphate' carried out Texas shooting while FBI say they monitored one of the two gunmen.
The Islamic State group claimed responsibility on Tuesday for a weekend attack
at a center near Dallas, Texas, exhibiting cartoon depictions of the Prophet Muhammad.
An audio statement on the extremist group's Al Bayan radio station said that "two soldiers of the caliphate" carried out Sunday's attack and promised to deliver more in the future.
Security forces at scene of attack in Texas. (Photo: Reuters)
The statement did not provide details and it was unclear whether the group was opportunistically claiming the attack as its own. It was the first time the Islamic State, which frequently calls for attacks against the West, had claimed responsibility for one in the United States.
Two suspects in Sunday's attack in the Dallas suburb of Garland were shot dead after opening fire at a security guard outside the center.
Federal agents for years monitored one of the two gunmen. Two government sources who asked not to be named said the gunmen were roommates Elton Simpson and Nadir Soofi, of Phoenix.
Court documents show Simpson had been under surveillance since 2006 and was convicted in 2011 of lying to FBI agents over his desire to join violent jihad in Somalia.
It was unclear whether the group, which has captured large swaths of territory in Syria and Iraq, had an actual hand in the operation, or whether the two suspects had pledged allegiance to the group and then carried out the attack on their own.
Security worker stares at Mohammad caricature at event. (Photo: EPA)
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 IS statement was read on the Al Bayan radio, which is based in the Syrian city of Raqqa, the group has proclaimed the capital of its self-styled caliphate.
"We tell ... America that what is coming will be more grievous and more bitter and you will see from the soldiers of the Caliphate what will harm you, God willing," it said.
There have been numerous attack in Western countries believed related in some way to the group, which holds roughly a third of Iraq and Syria.
In October, Canada was hit by two terror attacks by so-called "lone wolves" believed to have been inspired by the Islamic State group. In Ottawa, a gunman shot and killed a soldier at Canada's National War Memorial and then stormed Parliament before being gunned down. Two days earlier, a man ran over two soldiers in a parking lot in Quebec, killing one and injuring the other before being shot to death by police.
