Washington--The White House said Tuesday it was too soon to tell if the Islamic State group was behind an attack in Texas targeting an exhibit of caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed, despite claims by the jihadists.
The IS group earlier claimed responsibility for Sunday's attack, in which two gunmen shot a security guard in a Dallas suburb before being killed by a police officer outside an event showcasing the cartoons, which many Muslims find offensive.
The case "is still under investigation by the FBI and other members of the intelligence community" to determine if the two assailants had any ties to the IS group, White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters.
"So it's too early to say at this point."
The IS claim marked the first time the extremist group, which has captured swathes of territory in Syria and Iraq using brutal methods, alleged to have carried out an attack in the United States.
"Two of the soldiers of the caliphate executed an attack on an art exhibit in Garland, Texas, and this exhibit was portraying negative pictures of the Prophet Mohammed," the jihadist group said.
But Earnest said IS jihadists and other extremists are often "trying to capitalize on the opportunity that's presented by social media to try to communicate with individuals around the world, including inside the United States."
Police said the two gunmen drove up to the conference center Sunday in Garland, where the right-wing American Freedom Defense Initiative was organizing a controversial Mohammed cartoon contest, and opened fire with assault rifles, hitting a security guard in the ankle.
A Garland police officer then shot and killed both men with his service pistol.
The two suspected jihadists were Elton Simpson, 31, and Nadir Soofi, 34, who shared an apartment in Phoenix, Arizona.
AFP
