- The largest U.S. attack inspired by ISIS was the Pulse nightclub shooting
- The majority of ISIS-linked attacks have occurred abroad
- A shooting in San Bernadino that killed 14 was also linked to ISIS
Steph Whiteside
Updated:
(NewsNation) — The man who drove a truck into a New Orleans crowd on New Year’s Day had recently pledged allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), according to the FBI.
While most ISIS-linked attacks have occurred in the Middle East and Europe, individuals connected to the militant Islamic group have planned or carried out attacks in the U.S.
Pulse nightclub shooting
The deadliest U.S. attack linked to ISIS was the Pulse nightclub shooting in 2016, where 49 people were killed and another 53 were injured.
Omar Mateen was fatally shot after a standoff at the gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, during which he said he was carrying out the shooting because of American-led efforts to defeat ISIS in Iraq and Syria.
Shortly before the shooting, Mateen made a 911 call where he swore allegiance to the then-leader of ISIS, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
San Bernadino shooting
Another shooting linked to ISIS occurred in December of 2015, when Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik, a married couple, targeted a Department of Public Health Christmas party and training event.
Farook worked as an employee at the department. During the event in a banquet room, Farook and Malik opened fire, killing 14 people and seriously injuring 22.
They also left a b backpack containing three explosive devices authorities believe were intended to target first responders. However, the pipe bombs refused to explode.
The FBI characterized the couple as inspired by foreign terror groups, including ISIS, but were not formal members of any terror cell or network. The couple had also made a Facebook account pledging allegiance to ISIS and Baghdadi.
New York City truck attack
On Halloween in 2017, Sayfullo Habibullaevic Sipov drove a pickup truck into people on a bike path along the Hudson River in New York City.
Eight people were killed and 13 injured in the attack, six of whom were tourists from outside the U.S. Investigators found documents suggesting Saipov had an allegiance to ISIS inside the truck.
Hatchet attack in Queens
In October of 2014, four New York City Police Department officers were attacked on a sidewalk in Jamaica, Queens.
Nobody was killed in the attack other than the perpetrator. Two officers were injured along with a bystander who was hit by a bullet fired by police.
Zale Thompson was found to have visited websites about designated terrorist organizations but did not have direct ties to any foreign group.
New York subway bombing
In December of 2017, four people were injured after a pipe bomb partially detonated in the New York City Subway system.
The attack by Akayed Ullah was described as an attempted terrorist attack by authorities.
Ullah reportedly told authorities he was motivated in part by ISIS.
Curtis Culwell Center attack
The failed attack on the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland, Texas, in May of 2015 came in response to an exhibit that featured cartoon images of the prophet Muhammad. While the Quran does not specifically prohibit drawings of Muhammad, there is a widely held view in Islam that opposes the depiction of human figures, especially prophets.
The two attackers, Elton Simpson and Nadir Hamid Soofi, were killed during the attack. Nobody else was killed but one officer was injured.
The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) claimed responsibility for the attack, the first time it took credit for a U.S.-based attack. U.S. officials, however, say the attack was inspired but not directed by the group.
