FBI hunts for possible links of New Orleans truck attack with terrorism

HOUSTON -- Officials of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said they were hunting for possible connections of the truck attack in New Orleans of the southern US state of Louisiana early Wednesday morning with terrorist organizations.

The FBI is investigating the accident as an act of terrorism, the agency said in a statement, expressing the belief that the suspect, who was shot dead by responding police, might not be "solely responsible" for the ramming.

US House representative Troy Carter, a lawmaker from Louisiana, told ABC News that the death toll of the incident had risen to 15 with another 25 people still hospitalized with injuries.

However, New Orleans Police chief Anne Kirkpatrick said on Wednesday afternoon she could only confirm 10 had died and among the injured, several people had suffered life-threatening injuries.

The suspect has been identified as Shamsud Din Jabbar, 42, a US citizen living in Texas, according to the FBI.

"We do not believe that Jabbar was solely responsible," Alethea Duncan, an agent with the FBI's New Orleans field office, said at a news conference.

"We don't want to rule anything out," said Duncan.

Guns, two improvised explosive devices and corresponding remote control, as well as an Islamic State group flag, were found from the vehicle, according to local media reports.

The devices were wired for remote detonation, The Associated Press (AP) reported, adding that other potential explosive devices were also located in the French Quarter.

The AP, citing an intelligence bulletin it obtained, said surveillance footage captured three men and a woman placing one of multiple improvised explosive devices.

Jabbar, who had served in the US Army, was shot dead by the police after ramming the truck into New Year revelers, New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) said.

"After the vehicle came to a stop, the suspect reportedly opened fire on responding officers, who returned fire," NOPD said. Two police officers were shot and are in stable condition.

The truck, reportedly a Ford F-150 Lightning, was with a Texas plate and rent by the suspect through the Turo app, a car sharing company, Rodrigo Diaz, the owner of the truck, told ABC News.

The incident happened around 3:15 am (0915 GMT) at the intersection of Bourbon Street and Iberville, the French Quarter, which is one of the most crowded areas of New Orleans and the heart of the city's tourism industry.

"Last night we had over 300 officers out here. And because of the intentional mindset of this perpetrator who went around our barricades in order to conduct this, he was hellbent on creating the carnage and the damage that he did," Kirkpatrick said at a press conference.

"It was very intentional behavior," she said. "This man was trying to run over as many people as he could."