Suspected ISIS member arrested in connection with New Orleans attack, Iraq says

USA Today

30-04-2025

Suspected ISIS member arrested in connection with New Orleans attack, Iraq says
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What to know about the New Orleans attack suspect
Shamsud Din Bahar Jabbar drove a pickup truck into a crowd of people on Bourbon Street in New Orleans on New Year's Day, according to the FBI.
An alleged member of the Islamic State has been arrested in Iraq after being accused of inciting the New Year's Day truck attack in New Orleans that killed 14 people and injured dozens of others, Iraqi authorities said.
The unidentified suspect is believed to be affiliated with the Islamic State militant group, known as ISIS, according to a statement from Iraq's Supreme Judicial Council. The council said Iraqi authorities had received a request from the United States to assist in the investigation of the terror attack that occurred in the early hours of January 1.
Following an investigation and evidence analysis, Baghdad's Al-Karkh Investigative Court identified the suspect as a member of ISIS's external operations office and later detained him in Iraq, according to the council. The council added that the suspect will be put on trial under Iraq's anti-terrorism law and the country's "commitment to international cooperation to combat terrorism and enhance global security."
The arrest was first reported on April 27 by Al Arabiya, a state-owned news television channel based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation reiterated on April 29 that it believes the man who rammed his truck into crowds of revelers on New Orleans' famed Bourbon Street acted alone, NOLA.com and CBS News reported. The agency previously identified the driver as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42, an Army veteran and U.S.-born citizen from Texas.
"While we continue to work with our law enforcement partners, both in the U.S. and internationally, based on the information to date, we continue to believe that Shamsud Din-Jabbar acted alone in carrying out the attack on Bourbon Street," the FBI said in a statement, according to NOLA.com and CBS News.
The investigation into the attack remains ongoing, the agency said. The FBI did not immediately respond to USA TODAY's request for comment.
During an April 29 news conference announcing an economic development project, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry said he had been briefed on the arrest in Iraq and directed questions to the FBI's field office in New Orleans.
"This goes to show you the resiliency of the state and the commitment that our law enforcement partners, whether they be at the federal, state, or local level, have in making sure that we're safe in Louisiana," Landry added.
State Attorney General Liz Murrill said in a statement on X that she was "grateful to see this action."
"The (FBI) has been working with our partners across the globe to ensure we get answers and justice for the victims of this horrific tragedy," Murrill said.
Extremism: New Year's attacks place new focus on connections between extremism and the U.S. military
FBI: New Orleans truck attack suspect was inspired by ISIS
FBI officials previously said they believed Jabbar acted alone to execute a premeditated "act of terrorism." According to officials, he was inspired by ISIS to carry out the assault that occurred shortly after 3 a.m. on New Year's Day.
The FBI said Jabbar was killed in a shootout with police after he plowed his pick-up truck into the New Year's Day crowd, killing 14 people and wounding at least 57 others. Authorities have said the death toll could have been higher after law enforcement recovered two explosive devices hidden in coolers near the scene. The explosive devices did not detonate.
Hours before the attack, the FBI said Jabbar posted five videos on an online platform "proclaiming his support for ISIS." Further evidence obtained in the investigation also indicated that Jabbar "became a more devout Muslim in 2022," according to the FBI.
"During this time, Jabbar began isolating himself from society," the FBI added. "Around the spring of 2024, Jabbar began following extremist views."
Federal agents have been following leads in several states and other countries, according to the FBI. The agency revealed just days after the attack that Jabbar had previously visited Egypt, Canada, Florida, and Georgia.
He also made at least two trips to New Orleans in the months before the attack and searched for information about a similar incident at a Christmas market in Germany in December 2024, in which a man deliberately drove into a crowd, killing six people and injuring more than 200 others.
Cheap and deadly: Why vehicle terror attacks like the Bourbon Street ramming are on the rise
ISIS presence in Iraq and other countries
Although ISIS was largely defeated in Iraq in 2017 and in Syria in 2019 by a U.S.-led military campaign, the militant group has been operating in the shadows with sleeper cells that launch attacks in both countries and other areas across the world.
"Despite losing many of its leaders and its territory, ISIS remains capable of conducting insurgent operations in Iraq and Syria while overseeing at least 19 branches and networks in Africa, Asia, and Europe," according to the National Counterterrorism Center.
The group was once based in the Syrian city of Raqqa and the Iraqi city of Mosul, and had tens of thousands of fighters from numerous countries. As of 2024, the United Nations estimates that the group has about 10,000 fighters, according to Reuters.
Key foreign fighters for the group fled Iraq for neighboring countries, such as Afghanistan, Syria, and Pakistan. Most have joined the Islamic State's Khorasan branch, which is active along Iran's borders with Afghanistan and Pakistan.
A 2023 United Nations report estimated that in Egypt's Sinai province, there may be between 800 to 1,200 fighters who remain loyal to the Islamic State. The group's presence has also seen a decline in Syria and Libya.
Contributing: John Bacon and Joey Garrison, USA TODAY; Reuters