CAIRO
— 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.
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.
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.
The
suspects have been identified by officials as Elton Simpson and Nadir
Soofi. They opened fire in on an unarmed security officer stationed
outside the contest center featuring cartoons of the Muslim Prophet
Muhammad.
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.
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