As Orlando shooter Omar Mateen unleashed gunfire into the LGBT nightclub Pulse early Sunday, he declared his support for the Islamic State. That declaration, The New York Times reports, was all part of Mateen's adherence to the terrorist group's specific instructions for sympathizers to follow when carrying out attacks on its behalf:
While the extent of Islamic State involvement remains an open question, what is known is that Mr. Mateen followed the established ISIS protocol for carrying out an attack in the group's name — namely, he publicly declared his allegiance to the group, just before or during the shooting, by calling 911 and stating his affiliation.This followed instructions issued by the Islamic State to its adherents abroad, which called for sympathizers to carry out acts of violence against so-called infidels in any manner they could, following a declaration of the oath of allegiance. [The New York Times]
Read the full report of Mateen's ties to the Islamic State at The New York Times, and head to Times reporter Rukmini Callimachi's Twitter page for her entire analysis of how Mateen's actions relate to ISIS.
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