White House says ‘too early’ to link IS to Texas attack

The White House on Tuesday says it is too early to link the Islamic State group to an attack in Texas targeting an exhibit of caricatures of the Prophet Mohammad organized by an anti-Muslim, right-wing group.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest says the attack by two gunmen is “still under investigation,” adding that it’s “too early to say at this point” whether Islamic State fighters were responsible.

“This is still under investigation by the FBI and other members of the intelligence community to determine any ties or affiliations that these two individuals may have had with ISIL or other terrorist organizations around the world,” Earnest announces.

The Islamic State group, earlier in the day, claimed responsibility for the attack, saying that “two of the soldiers of the caliphate” carried it out.

Earnest cautions that extremists sometimes make claims of responsibility for propaganda purposes “to try to communicate with individuals around the world, including inside the United States.”

— AFP