California shooting: Woman attacker pledged allegiance to Islamic State

San Francisco The Pakistani wife of thePakistaniAmerican man who together carried out the deadlyCalifornia shooting pledged allegiance to IS leader Abu BakralBaghdadi on Facebook and had radicalised her husband beforethe attack that killed 14 people US investigators said todayOfficals said that as the attack in San Bernardino washappening 27yearold female shooter Tashfeen Malik posted apledge of allegiance to IS leader alBaghdadi on Facebookthree US officials familiar with the probe told CNNThey said Maliks post was made on an account with adifferent name one US official said The officials did notexplain how they knew Malik made the postA law enforcement official said it appeared thatWednesdays attack which left 14 people dead and 21 woundedbefore the two attackers Malik and her husband 28yearoldSyed Rizwan Farook were killed in a shootout with police may have been inspired by Islamic State IS terror group Butnone of the officials said that IS directed or ordered theattackThis is looking more and more like selfradicalisationa law enforcement official saidAnother official said authorities havent ruled out thatothers may have influenced this radical view In addition thelaw enforcement source said investigators have a greater focuson whether the shooting occurred after a workplace issue withreligionMalik may have radicalised her husband investigators saida day after the heavilyarmed couple opened indiscriminatefire during a party at a social service centre for people withdisabilities in San Bernardino CaliforniaLaw enforcement sources said that there was a verystrong possibility that Malik functioned as Farooks terrortrainer and may have even put together pipe bombs found byauthorities at the various crime scenesInvestigators also believe that the parents of a 6monthold daughter had planned a second attack after theshooting at the social service centre that killed 14 peopleand injured 21 othersLaw enforcement sources said that investigators believethe couples death in police action prevented a second attackon Wednesday though they have not established what the targetwould have beenThey point not only to the sheer amount of weaponry leftunused but also to the fact that the couples rented SUV wasdue to be returned on ThursdayLittle is known about Maliks background prior to hermeeting Farook However a US official said that the two metand became engaged after Farook traveled to Saudi Arabia inSeptember 2013Malik a Pakistani citizen applied for a K1 visa at theAmerican embassy in Islamabad in May 2014 and Farook traveledto Saudi Arabia that July to bring her to the USThey were married on August 16 2014 in nearby RiversideCounty California according to their marriage licenseInvestigators believe that on at least one of those tripsto Saudi Arabia one or both members of the couple contactedsuspected alQaeda terrorists The exact nature of thatcontact was not immediately clear the Fox News report saidOfficials said that Malik underwent and passed aDepartment of Homeland Security counterterrorism screening aspart of the process of getting the K1 visa The visa wouldhave been effective for 90 days after which Malik would havehad to apply for green card status through the Department ofHomeland Security as the wife of an AmericanAs part of the complex investigation authorities weretrying to piece together a money trail that would have enabledthe suspects to acquire over USD 30000 worth of guns andexplosivesPublic records show that Farook earned nearly USD 51000per year as an employee of the San Bernardino CountyDepartment of Public Health making it unlikely he could haveafforded such an arsenal out of his own pocket There is noevidence that Malik had a job