Islamic State said on Saturday that a married couple who killed 14 people in California in an attack the FBI is investigating as an “act of terrorism” were followers of the militant group based in Syria and Iraq.
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The extremist group said in a broadcast on its Al-Bayan radio station that “two supporters of the Islamic State” attacked the Inland Regional Center, a facility providing services for people suffering from developmental disabilities. There is no evidence yet that IS directed the attack or even knew the attackers.
The FBI is now investigating the fatal shooting of 14 people in California by a married couple as an “act of terrorism”.
‘We have uncovered evidence that has led us to learn of extensive planning, ‘ David Bowdich, the assistant Federal Bureau of Investigation director in charge of the Los Angeles office, told reporters.
The FBI’s Operational Technology Division in Quantico, Virginia, has units that can try to retrieve data from smashed, burned and damaged devices, including cellphones, hard drives and flash drives. While many members said they knew Farook and described him as quiet and very studious, “no one knows anything about his wife”, said Mahmood Nadvi, son of the mosque’s founder.
Donald Trump said Saturday that he is not ruling out eliminating fiancé visas, after one of the San Bernardino massacre killers entered the USA with one.
Farook family attorneys, holding a news conference in Los Angeles on Friday, denied there was any evidence that either the husband or wife harbored extremist views.
A report surfaced early Saturday that the address San Bernardino suspect Tashfeen Malik reported on her 2014 fiancee visa application to the United States from Pakistan does not exist. The FBI’s Bowdich said Malik was not on his agency’s radar. They say the family is originally from the Pakistani town of Karor Lal Esan, about 200 miles southwest of the capital of Islamabad in Punjab province.
The Pakistani woman, who joined her U.S.-born husband in killing 14 people in a commando-style assault on his co-workers, is now at the center of a massive FBI terrorism investigation, yet she remains shrouded in mystery. The FBI appeared to be stumped about what caused the couple to open fire, he said.
Many questions remain unanswered about the motives of the killers and what contacts they had with other terrorists either domestically or overseas, he said. “And if so, it would underscore a threat we’ve been focused on for years – the danger of people succumbing to violent extremist ideologies”.
“None of the family members had any knowledge that this was going to take place”, Abuershaid said.
Sandie Emperador, 30, said she saw Marquez and Farook working together on many occasions fixing cars in Farook’s garage. The couple died hours later in a shootout with police.
On Sunday at 8:00 pm (0100 GMT Monday) from the Oval Office, he will again look to reassure the American people in the wake of the attack, which the FBI is investigating as a possible act of terrorism.
They said Farook, too, largely kept to himself, had few friends and said co-workers sometimes made fun of his beard.
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The two officials, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity, said that the family is originally from a town in Punjab province and that the father initially moved to Saudi Arabia around three decades ago for work. The couple had resided in a small, two-bedroom home in Redlands with their 6-month-old daughter and Farook’s mother since May. Malik was not on any Saudi law enforcement or intelligence watch-list, the source said. “What was he missing in his life?” asked Nizaam Ali, who worshipped with Farook at a mosque in San Bernardino.
