ISIS Embraces San Bernardino Shooters, But No Sign of Direct Ties

Father of Gunman Says Son 'Approved of ISIS'

With both FBI investigations and media reporting on last week’s San Bernardino shooting emphasizing a terror connection, ISIS is looking to cash in,  embracing the shooters as “supporters” and claiming them among the “martyrs” of the movement.

Chalking up the incident as an ISIS attack is a simple explanation for what is starting to seem a complicated situation combining radicalization and workplace anger, though officials maintain that there is no sign of any direct ties between the shooters and ISIS.

At the same time, gunman Syed Farook’s father says his son “approved” of ISIS, and agreed with ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi about the merits of creating an Islamic State in the Middle East. Farook’s wife was also said to have pledged allegiance to ISIS on Facebook.

Ultimately though, there is an important distinction between ISIS actually organizing and carrying out an attack in the US, and a couple whose ideology leaned in the same direction carrying out a lone wolf attack without any link to any outside group.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.