National Security

Report: Both San Bernardino shooters vowed allegiance to ISIS

Both suspects in last week’s shooting in San Bernardino, Calif., pledged allegiance to the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), according to a report.

A Facebook post in support of the terror group that was believed to have been sent by 29-year-old Tashfeen Malik was in fact posted on account of both herself and her husband, 28-year-old Syed Rizwan Farook, The Washington Post reported Tuesday, citing unidentified senior law enforcement officials. 

{mosads}“We pledge allegiance” to ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the message said, according to the Post. The message was sent around the time of the shooting. 

The revelation shows the closest connection so far between ISIS the two, who police said killed 14 people and wounded another 21 in what is being investigated as the deadliest terror attack on U.S. soil since Sept. 11, 2001.

David Bowdich, the assistant director of the FBI’s field office in Los Angeles, on Monday said both shooters “were radicalized and have been for quite some time.” 

Officials have said they have detected links between Farook and other people on the government’s radar, but they said last week’s violence was not directed by ISIS. Farook and Malik appear to have radicalized themselves, officials claimed, and are neither a part of an international organization nor a domestic extremist cell.

Still, much about the duo remains unclear.

According to reports, Malik, who came to the U.S. as Farook’s fiancee, spent time at conservative Islamic institutions in her native Pakistan. After she arrived in the U.S., Malik reportedly kept largely to herself and was rarely seen outside the home.

Officials are still trying to explain what inspired them to turn to violence.

ISIS has urged its supporters to carry out violent attacks throughout the world, escalating concerns about “lone wolf” extremists whose plots escape detection.