Two Israelis injured in New Orleans terror attack

On New Year’s Day, two Israelis were injured in a terror attack in New Orleans, Louisiana.

The attack, which took place at about 3:15 a.m., was perpetrated by Shamsud-Din Jabbar, who drove a pickup truck into a crowd on Bourbon Street.

Police reported that 15 people were killed and more than 30 wounded in the attack.

Israel’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Gideon Sa’ar reacted to the attack in a post on 𝕏.

“Deeply saddened by the terrorist attack in New Orleans,” he wrote. “My heartfelt condolences go out to the families of the victims. Wishing a swift recovery to the two injured Israeli citizens and all the wounded. I instructed Israel's Consul General in Houston to immediately deploy a representative to the scene. Terror has no place in our world. Israel stands in solidarity with New Orleans and the United States.”

The status of the two injured Israeli citizens remains unclear.

While FBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge Alethea Duncan initially denied that the incident was being investigated as a terror attack, the agency later released a statement saying the opposite.

“An ISIS flag was located in the vehicle, and the FBI is working to determine the subject's potential associations and affiliations with terrorist organizations,” the statement read.

The FBI further stated that “weapons and a potential IED were located in the subject’s vehicle,” and that “we are working with our partners to investigate this as an act of terrorism.”

42-year-old Jabbar, a U.S. citizen and veteran, was deployed to Afghanistan by the U.S. Army in 2009 and served as a staff sergeant.

The FBI indicated that Jabbar, who was eliminated at the time of the attack, was unlikely to have been a lone actor.