IS says it was behind US Prophet cartoon attack

Islamic State (IS) has said that it was behind the attack on a Prophet Muhammad cartoon contest in the US state of Texas.
It said that "two soldiers of the caliphate" carried out the attack at a conference centre near Dallas.
The IS's al-Bayan Radio news bulletin said that the exhibition "was portraying negative pictures of the Prophet Muhammad".
Both suspects were shot dead after opening fire at the centre on Sunday.
Correspondents say that it is believed to be the first time that IS has claimed to have carried out an attack in the US.

"We tell America that what is coming will be even bigger and more bitter, and that you will see the soldiers of the Islamic State do terrible things," the statement released by the group said.
Court documents have shown that one of two gunmen shot dead had been a terror suspect.
Elton Simpson had been under surveillance since 2006 and was convicted in 2010 for lying to FBI agents about plans to go to Somalia to engage in violent jihad, or holy war, the files reveal.
A judge found him guilty of making a false statement and he was sentenced to three years' probation and a $600 (£400) fine.
The judge ruled there was insufficient evidence that the false statement involved international terrorism.
He had shared a flat in Arizona with the person named by officials as the other alleged gunman, Nadir Soofi.
On Monday, FBI agents searched their home in Phoenix and a white van parked outside.

A lot of people here have been upset because both the event organisers had come from outside of town, but so too had the attackers — they had come from Arizona. So they feel their community has been put under the spotlight, and it has caused a great deal of tension.
Local Muslims were very upset that the event was being held at all.
Alia Salem, local director of the Council on American-Islamic relations, told me: "My reaction was one of basically ignoring it and I encouraged the community to also ignore it, and we did. We have important things to focus on in our community, and to have this kind of event come in, and these types of criminals come in and commit these acts of terror just splits our community apart."
And it's not just local Muslims — a lot of people here are upset about all the attention that has been brought here because of what's happened. Even the mayor has suggested that it wasn't wise for the exhibition centre here to hold this event.
That's something that's made the event organisers bristle, saying freedom of speech is freedom of speech. But many others are upset and they say this wasn't really about freedom of speech — it was an anti-Islam event.

'Gonna make it to the battlefield'
The court documents also showed that Simpson had been under investigation since 2006 because of his association with an individual the FBI believed was trying to set up a terrorist cell in Arizona.
Simpson had told an informant in 2009 that it was "time to go to Somalia", adding: "We gonna make it to the battlefield."
He later said he was planning to travel to South Africa and then on to Somalia.
The incident on Sunday unfolded when a car drove into the car park of the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland, a city near Dallas, where a Muhammad Art Exhibition organised by the controversial American Freedom Defense Initiative (AFDI) was being held.
The conference included a contest that offered a $10,000 (£6,600) prize for a cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad. Depictions of the Prophet Muhammad are offensive to many Muslims.
The two men in the car opened fire with assault rifles on two security officers, Garland police said.
One of the officers, a traffic policeman, returned fire and killed both gunmen, police spokesman Joe Harn said.
A bomb squad searched the suspects' vehicle and set off several controlled explosions. They found additional ammunition but no bombs, Mr Harn said.
The AFDI is run by controversial blogger and activist Pamela Geller who said she was standing up for free speech, adding: "This terrible incident reflects the need for such conferences."

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