In the early hours of New Year’s Day 2025, a tragic and violent event unfolded on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, resulting in the deaths of more than a dozen people celebrating the arrival of the new year. The attack was carried out by a US Army veteran, identified by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a 42-year-old US citizen from Texas. Jabbar drove a pickup truck displaying an Islamic State (IS) flag into a crowd, striking revelers along the famous street before engaging in a gunfire exchange with police officers, who ultimately shot and killed him.

Authorities revealed that Jabbar rammed his vehicle onto the pavement near a police barricade blocking access to Bourbon Street. After the initial assault on the crowd, he subsequently crashed into construction equipment before initiating gunfire. Investigators found weapons and what appeared to be an improvised explosive device inside the vehicle, as well as other devices located in the vicinity of the French Quarter.

The FBI has described the incident as a terrorist act and is investigating potential connections with terrorist organisations, emphasising that Jabbar likely did not act alone.

Following the attack, Iraqi authorities disclosed that they had detained an official linked to the so-called Islamic State group in connection with inciting the New Orleans attack. The man, an Iraqi citizen affiliated with IS’s foreign operations office, was arrested following requests from US officials who had sought cooperation in the investigation. The Iraqi Al-Karkh Investigative Court has ordered that the suspect be tried under the country’s anti-terrorism laws. The detained individual’s identity has not been publicly released due to legal procedures.

The presence and influence of IS remain a concern despite the group’s significant territorial defeats in Iraq and Syria in 2017 and 2019, respectively. IS continues to maintain sleeper cells that execute deadly attacks in various regions, including Iraq and Syria.

Historically, the group drew tens of thousands of fighters and supporters globally to Syria and Iraq, at its height controlling an area comparable to half the size of the United Kingdom. It became notorious for its brutal forms of violence, including public beheadings, the massacre of approximately 1,700 captured Iraqi soldiers within a short timeframe, and the systematic enslavement and abuse of thousands of women from the Yazidi community, one of Iraq’s oldest religious minorities.

The Belfast Telegraph is reporting these developments as part of ongoing coverage of the attack’s aftermath and the broader implications for international counter-terrorism efforts.

Source: Noah Wire Services