Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at the deadly New Orleans attack and the suspect’s ties to the Islamic State, the end of Russian gas transits through Ukraine, and Israeli airstrikes across Gaza.
Authorities Probe New Orleans Attacker’s Islamic State Ties
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry visited Bourbon Street in New Orleans on Thursday, less than 24 hours after issuing a state of emergency for the city. Shortly before dawn on Jan. 1, a man drove a pickup truck past a police car barricade and into a large crowd celebrating the New Year in the heart of the city, killing at least 15 people and injuring dozens of others.
Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at the deadly New Orleans attack and the suspect’s ties to the Islamic State, the end of Russian gas transits through Ukraine, and Israeli airstrikes across Gaza.
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Authorities Probe New Orleans Attacker’s Islamic State Ties
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry visited Bourbon Street in New Orleans on Thursday, less than 24 hours after issuing a state of emergency for the city. Shortly before dawn on Jan. 1, a man drove a pickup truck past a police car barricade and into a large crowd celebrating the New Year in the heart of the city, killing at least 15 people and injuring dozens of others.
The attacker—identified as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a U.S. citizen from Texas who is also an Army veteran—was shot and killed by New Orleans police at the scene. Investigators found guns and what appeared to be an improvised explosive device in the vehicle, as well as an Islamic State flag. Other explosive devices were discovered nearby in the city’s French Quarter.
Investigators said on Thursday that they believe Jabbar acted alone, and as of time of writing, no additional arrests have been made. The Islamic State has not declared responsibility for the attack, though Jabbar posted on social media prior to the incident that he was motivated by the militant group’s activities and his own desire to inflict carnage.
“This is not just an act of terrorism. This is evil,” New Orleans Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick said. Wednesday’s attack is believed to be the deadliest Islamic State-inspired assault on U.S. soil in years.
On Thursday, U.S. President Joe Biden convened his national security team to discuss the ongoing investigation, and Landry planned to attend the rescheduled Sugar Bowl college football game in New Orleans’s Superdome.
The FBI said no initial connection had been found between the Bourbon Street attack and an incident in Las Vegas on Wednesday, when a Tesla Cybertruck loaded with explosive material blew up outside a Trump Hotel. (The driver shot himself before the truck erupted in flames, according to authorities.) Both drivers had served in the U.S. Army and rented their cars from vehicle-renting service Turo.
Around the world, other violence put authorities on high alert as people ushered in the new year. On Wednesday, a gunman in Montenegro killed at least 12 people and wounded four others during a shooting rampage following a bar brawl. It was the second major shooting in the town of Cetinje in just three years.
Also on Wednesday, a driver barreled “at speed” into several people in New Zealand’s South Island city of Nelson before ramming a police car. Senior Sgt. Lyn Fleming was killed, making her the first female police officer in New Zealand’s history to be killed by a criminal act in the line of duty.
And at least 10 people were wounded outside of a New York City nightclub on New Year’s Eve when a group of men opened fire on people waiting to enter the venue. The motive remains unclear, but New York Police Department Chief of Patrol Philip Rivera said on Thursday that the incident was not an act of terrorism.
These attacks come just weeks after a man in the German city of Magdeburg drove his car through a Christmas market, killing at least five people and injuring hundreds more. The suspect had voiced support for the far-right Alternative for Germany party and promoted Islamophobic rhetoric.
Today’s Most Read
What We’re Following
The gas route to Europe. Ukraine halted Russian gas supplies to European customers on Wednesday after its prewar transit deal expired at the end of 2024. Throughout Russia’s nearly three-year war against Ukraine, Russian natural gas was allowed to flow through the country’s pipeline network due to an existing five-year agreement.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky vowed last month to allow the deal to expire so that Russia could no longer use the transits to earn “additional billions … on our blood, on the lives of our citizens.”
“This is a historic event,” Ukrainian Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko said on Telegram on Wednesday. “Russia is losing markets and will incur financial losses.”
Prior to the war, Russia supplied around 40 percent of the European Union’s pipeline natural gas through four systems: one under the Baltic Sea, one through Belarus and Poland, one through Ukraine, and one under the Black Sea.
However, attacks on pipelines—and Moscow’s decision to cut off gas transports through some of them—have sparked an energy crisis across Europe, forcing some governments to shell out billions of euros to keep their infrastructure afloat. Economists predict that the Ukrainian pipeline deal’s expiration will not affect gas prices for European consumers.
Airstrikes kill Gaza police chief. Israeli airstrikes killed at least 54 people across Gaza on Thursday, including 11 people living in an encampment in the al-Mawasi designated humanitarian zone. According to the Gaza Interior Ministry, Gaza police department chief Mahmoud Salah and his aide, Hussam Shahwan, were killed.
The Israeli military has described Shahwan as the head of Hamas’s security forces in southern Gaza, and it said that the strike targeted a Hamas command and control center “embedded inside the Khan Younis municipality building in the Humanitarian Area.” Israeli officials did not mention Salah.
More than 45,500 Palestinians have been killed since the Israel-Hamas war began in October 2023. International mediators have intensified efforts in recent weeks to establish a cease-fire in Gaza, and some experts had hoped for an end to the conflict before the new year. However, Israeli and Hamas officials remain divided on several key negotiation points.
Yoon resists arrest. Impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol wrote to supporters on Thursday that he will “fight until the end” as authorities seek Yoon’s arrest over his short-lived declaration of martial law last month.
“As if trying to stage insurrection wasn’t enough, he is now inciting his supporters to an extreme clash,” opposition Democratic Party spokesperson Jo Seoung-lae said of the letter. On Thursday, police ordered supporters grouped outside of Yoon’s residence to disperse; they laid down in the street, compelling police to forcibly remove them.
Meanwhile, Yoon is preparing to attend his second hearing over his impeachment trial at the Constitutional Court on Friday. Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok has taken over as interim president until the trial concludes.
Odds and Ends
One Japanese toilet-maker is urging users to take better care of their porcelain thrones. Last week, Japanese company Toto warned customers not to wipe their seats with toilet paper to prevent micro scratches and discoloration on the surface. Instead, Toto recommends using a soft cloth soaked in water or detergent. “There are no plans to change the material at this time,” the company said.
The popularity of Toto’s Washlet high-tech toilets has grown around the world, particularly as enthusiasm over bidets hikes in the United States—seemingly mostly through word of mouth.
The post Investigators Suspect Islamic State Ties in New Orleans Attack appeared first on Foreign Policy.
