Isis claims Texas attack

A radio programme linked to Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isis) said the world's most notorious jihadi group has claimed responsibility for an attack on a "Muhammad art exhibit" in Texas.

A statement on al-Bayan, a new Isis-linked online radio programme, claimed that "soldiers of the caliphate" launched the attack in Garland, Texas. Isis, which claims to be building an Islamic caliphate in territory it has seized across a third of Syria and Iraq, first called for so-called "lone-wolf" attacks on members of a US-led international coalition after it began launching air strikes on the group last summer.

In Texas, police on Sunday shot and killed the two gunmen after they opened fire with assault rifles outside the exhibit, which was organised by a controversial anti-Islam group. It featured drawings of the Prophet Mohammed, and included a cash prize for the best portrayal. Depictions of the prophet's image are offensive to most Muslims.

"We say to the American defenders of the cross, what is coming will be much worse. You will see from the soldiers of the Islamic state that which will hurt you," said the statement read on al-Bayan.

US officials identified the two suspects in the shooting as Elton Simpson and Nadir Hami Soofi. It is unclear how big a role the militant group actually played in organising the attack. Hassan Hassan, an analyst who wrote a book on Isis, cautioned against seeing this as a sign that the group is now planning attacks in North America.

"Sometimes people not directly affiliated with Isis carry out acts on behalf of the group. This is the danger of Isis. Lone wolf attacks are more insulated from the group than was the case with al-Qaeda," he said.

Al-Qaeda's focus has been on orchestrating attacks abroad and it has played a more direct role masterminding terrorist acts. Its Yemen wing, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), played a role in organising the attack on the French magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris, in which 12 people were killed. <

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"Isis does not need to connect to potential attackers," Mr Hassan said. "But the attacks can still carry the brand name."

Just before the shootings in Texas, a person using the Twitter handle @atawaakul, whose account is now suspended, tweeted: "The bro with me and myself have given bay'ah to Amirul Mu'mineen [the head of Isis]. May Allah accept us as mujahideen. Make dua #texasattack."

Regional analyst Janaina Herrara, of the New Consulting Group in Beirut, said that if deeper links with Isis were confirmed, it would be a worry for those who hoped the group would maintain its interest in "caliphate building" in areas of the Middle East where it has direct influence.

"Isis was originally concerned with local targets. If they are moving in that direction, it's a scary thing."

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