Suspected ISIS member arrested in Iraq for "inciting" Bourbon Street attack, report says
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National Guardsmen patrol on Bourbon Street after the Jan. 1 terror attack. Photo: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images
A suspected ISIS member was arrested in Iraq for allegedly "inciting" the Jan. 1 terrorist attack on Bourbon Street that killed 14 bystanders and injured dozens of others, according to a report from Al Arabiya.
Why it matters: A spokesperson for the FBI's New Orleans office says the agency maintains that its suspect, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, acted alone, so it's not clear how the Iraqi suspect may or may not fit into the picture.
The latest: Citing information from Iraq's top court, the Supreme Judicial Council, Al Arabiya reported on Sunday that authorities had arrested a person who is "a member of the external operations office of the [ISIS] terrorist organization."
- The suspect will be tried in Iraq under its anti-terrorism law, the outlet reports.
Between the lines: Al Arabiya is a state-owned news organization based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Zoom in: The FBI's investigation "remains active and ongoing," according to a Tuesday afternoon statement from a spokesperson for its New Orleans office.
- "While we continue to work with our law enforcement partners, both in the U.S. and internationally, based on the information to date, we continue to believe that Shamsud Din-Jabbar acted alone in carrying out the attack on Bourbon Street," the statement says.
Catch up quick: The FBI said earlier this year that Jabbar was "100% inspired by ISIS," and he traveled outside the country at least twice in the years before the Jan. 1 attack.
- He visited Canada and Egypt in the summer of 2023, the FBI has said, but it's not yet clear whether those trips were related to the attack.
- Officials have said Jabbar's views became "extreme" by the spring of 2024.
What they're saying: Gov. Jeff Landry said in a press conference about a new LNG plant in Lake Charles on Tuesday that he was briefed on the arrest that morning.
- He directed questions about the arrest to the FBI, but said the moment highlighted "the resiliency of this state."
- In a statement to Axios New Orleans, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise also applauded the international arrest, adding that "we must continue demanding justice for victims and their families who lost loved ones."