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California Terrorist Attack Feared — ISIS Not Linked To San Bernardino Shooting By Police, But DAESH Has Made Threats

Published on: December 2, 2015 at 5:22 PM
By Patrick Frye

On social media, some fear a California terrorist attack is in progress. Police say the San Bernardino attack was perpetrated by at least one or more heavily armored shooters using AK-47 type weapons and wearing military-style garb. The perpetrators may have planted a bomb within the Inland Regional Center, an office building which provides services for those with developmental disabilities such as autism. Authorities have refused to speculate on the identity of the shooters, but already some on social media fear it may be ISIS or DAESH.

[UPDATE for December 4, 2015] U.S. officials say that the two shooting suspects pledged allegiance to ISIS during the middle of the attack.

[UPDATE] At least two of the shooting suspects are down after engaging in gun battle with SWAT teams . A third suspect is still on the run as of this update.

In a related report by the Inquisitr , fears over the threat of ISIS attacks in America has many in the United States questioning whether it is wise to allow tens of thousands of Muslim Syrian refugees into the country, but the issue is complicated by the fact that ISIS, al-Qaeda, and other Islamic groups may follow the doctrine of Al-Taqiyya, or Al-Taqiyah, where the Prophet Mohammed commanded his followers to lie about their motivations in order to conquer enemy countries.

Already, the fears related to Islamic terrorist groups have caused some on social media to claim the still active California shooting to be a terrorist attack by ISIS.

According to ValueWalk , “law enforcement has refused to speculate at this time” on the actual identities of the gunmen or gunman, but they claim that “given the scale of the shooting and that there are at least three shooters with long guns, it seems that we might be dealing with a terrorist incident on U.S. soil this time.” A bomb squad was sent to investigate a suspicious device left inside the Inland Regional Center, and Value Walk reports that the “possible explosive device has also been found and is being defused,” with CNN reporting that a robot is being sent in.

According to Sky News , San Bernardino Sheriff’s Office Spokeswoman Teri Adams said witnesses saw the suspects target an office Christmas party in the conference room. The California shooting suspects were apparently spotted changing clothes near the scene of the crime, and they were wearing military gear. It is believed that up to three men fled in a black SUV and so far, no arrests have been made.

One suspect is named Farooq Saeed and Inland Regional Center witnesses claim the man was “acting strangely” before the shooting began. San Bernardino police also say there is no proof at this time that the San Bernardino mass shooting is linked to an ISIS terrorism attack , but the FBI says there is uncertainty at this time.

“At this point, I know one of your questions is going to be ‘Is this a terrorist incident?’ I will tell you right now we do not know if this is a terrorist incident,” said David Bowdich, an assistant director for Los Angeles FBI’s office, according to CNN .

According to The Epoch Times , FBI Assistant Director Ron Hosko also predicted the suspects are probably “ anti-government ” or “militia” types.

Witness Marie Henning, who hid in an office nearby to the California shooting , described the scene.

“I heard a helicopter circling over the office and shortly after our boulevard was completely filled with police vehicles, unmarked cars,” she said. “The Swat team was out in front of our office area putting on their protective gear.”

The number of victims in the California attack is uncertain, but Reuters reports that the Loma Linda University Medical Center “said it had received four adult patients and was expecting three more.” The San Bernardino Fire Department also said it was responding to reports of 20 victims, and witnesses have described seeing bodies on the floor of the office building. NDTV quotes the police as saying that at least 14 people were killed, and 14 were injured, in the California shooting .

ISIS Threatens California

While no one has claimed responsibility for the California attack, in recent times ISIS has directly threatened to attack multiple states within the United States, including California, within six months.

“We have 71 trained soldiers in 15 different states ready at our word to attack any target we desire. Out of the 71 trained soldiers 23 have signed up for missions like Sunday, We are increasing in number bithnillah [if God wills]. Of the 15 states, 5 we will name… Virginia, Maryland, Illinois, California, and Michigan…The next six months will be interesting.”

According to Breitbart , “most experts believe the 71 figure is inaccurate and that the threat is only inspired by ISIS, not directly linked to the group,” but they claimed these experts “did not dismiss the possibility that some trained soldiers linked to ISIS are operating in the country.”

In November of 2015, Michael Morell, the former Acting Director and Deputy Director of the CIA, wrote an editorial for Time magazine where he stated that “ ISIS will strike America .”

“ISIS poses a major threat to the US and to US interests abroad and that threat is growing every day…. The FBI has over 900 open investigations into homegrown extremists, the vast majority radicalized by ISIS and a large number of which relate to individuals who may be plotting attacks here,” wrote Morell. “Such attacks have already occurred in the US. Others have been arrested before they could act.”

The current CIA Director, John Brennan, does believe that ISIS has more terrorist attacks “in the pipeline,” but he claims the threat is greater in Europe than it is to the United States. The report from CNN also states that the number of ISIS members in the U.S. is estimated to be around 40 people, although another report says that “at least 300 Americans who actively support ISIS on social media and spread propaganda on the terror group’s behalf, with Twitter being the preferred platform.” In California, ISIS member Nicholas Michael Teausant was arrested in 2015, and according to The Jerusalem Post he recently plead guilty to providing material support to the Islamic State.

[Photo via Flickr by 3aref 6ari2o/ CC BY-SA 2.0 ]

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