The San Bernardino Terrorists Were Likely Planning “Multiple” Attacks

And in Pakistan on Sunday, the interior minister said the country has launched its own investigation and offered assistance to USA authorities. Ms. Malik also had to pass criminal and national security background checks that used F.B.I. and Department of Homeland Security databases.

Colleagues of San Bernardino shooting assailant Syed Farook told the Associated Press and the Los Angeles Times that co-workers once threw a baby shower and collected money for Farook and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, before the birth of their baby six months ago. She started dressing more conservatively, wearing a scarf that covered almost all of her face, and became more devout in her Muslim faith, according to some who knew her in Pakistan.

The Times and other media outlets, citing a senior government official who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Farook was in contact with a number of extremists and at least one person being monitored by federal officials, a Pakistani named Roshan Zamir Abbassi, who is an assistant Imam in San Bernardino, where Farook worshipped.

A police officer raises police tape to allow residents to enter San Bernadino Avenue, the crime scene where the suspects of the Inland Resource Center were killed.

If the Dec 2 mass shooting proves to have been the work of people inspired by Islamist militants, it would mark the deadliest such attack in the United States since Sep 11, 2001.

FBI Director James Comey would not discuss whether anyone affiliated with IS communicated back, but he said there was no indication yet that the plot was directed by any other foreign terror group.

While investigators have not yet found evidence the couple was part of an organised group or broader terrorist cell, it said on Saturday that “several pieces” of information “point to the perpetrators being radicalized to violence”.

“This is looking more and more like self-radicalization”, a law enforcement official said. Farook family attorneys, holding a news conference in Los Angeles on Friday, denied there was any evidence that either the husband or wife harbored extremist views. The maid spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of jeopardizing her employment with the family.

“Within that group we’re trying to focus on those we think might be at the highest risk of being a copycat”, Mr. Comey said, referring to those who may try to follow the attackers in Paris. The lawyers described Malik as “just a housewife” and cautioned against rushing to judgment. He would not elaborate. He said investigators were looking carefully to determine if there is an IS connection. He also said his brother, Malik’s father, had become considerably more conservative since moving with his family to Saudi Arabia a quarter century ago.

The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is lauding the San Bernardino, Calif., gunmen as “supporters” of the group, but stopping short of claiming full affiliation.

Attorneys representing Farook’s family urged the public and media to wait for specific evidence before jumping to conclusions.

While it appeared unseemly, Bowdich said the Federal Bureau of Investigation had finished investigating the home. He said IS “has made it a priority to reach and recruit women, so perhaps we are starting to see the results of those efforts”. But the official said it is only one among a number of theories that are being pursued.

Authorities have said in addition to terrorism, workplace issues with religion is a possible motive.

They described Malik as a devoted home-keeper who closely followed religious traditions. The FBI has said that Marquez is not considered a suspect in the shooting.

The couple’s orphaned daughter is in the care of child protective services and the family will try to recover her next week.

The radio report did not refer to Farook and Malik as actual Islamic State members.