Washington, D.C. [US]: Following the terrorist attack in New Orleans during New Year’s celebrations, President Joe Biden assured that the United States will continue to pursue ISIS and other terrorist organizations without rest.
“We are going to relentlessly pursue ISIS and other terrorist organizations wherever they are, and they will find no safe haven here,” Biden stated on Thursday.
The President confirmed that 15 people, including the attacker, lost their lives in the New Orleans incident, with an additional 35 injured. He emphasized that investigations had found no evidence of other individuals being involved in the attack.
“The number of people killed in New Orleans has risen to 15, including the attacker, while 35 people were injured. Today, the FBI briefed me, and as of now, we have no information suggesting anyone else was involved in the attack. The FBI has established that the attacker also planted explosives in two ice coolers at nearby locations in the French Quarter just hours before ramming into the crowd with his vehicle,” Biden said.
The attacker, identified as Shamsud Din Jabbar, had shown strong support for ISIS in videos he shared before the incident. An ISIS flag was discovered in his vehicle. “As I said yesterday, the attacker posted several videos just hours before the attack, declaring his allegiance to ISIS. Federal law enforcement and the intelligence community are thoroughly investigating any potential foreign or domestic connections,” Biden added.
When addressing speculation about a link between the New Orleans attack and the recent Tesla Cybertruck explosion in Las Vegas, Biden stated that no evidence of a connection had been found so far. The investigation into both incidents remains ongoing.
The Las Vegas attack involved the explosion of a Tesla Cybertruck outside the Trump International Hotel, which killed one person and injured seven. Authorities noted that both vehicles involved in the incidents were rented through the car-sharing platform Turo, prompting further scrutiny for possible links.