ISIS Issues New Statement Taking Credit For Vegas Attack, Claims Paddock “Converted Six Months Ago”

ISIS, which has never claimed an attack that they weren’t actually involved in, has tripled down on its claim that the Las Vegas Mandalay Bay Massacre was a Jihad carried out by Stephen Paddock – who they say converted to Islam six months ago.

In the most recent edition of its Naba newsletter (ISIS has a newsletter), the Islamic State features infographs and specific claims that Paddock – who they say adopted the Muslim name Abu Abdul Barr al-Amriki (or Abu Abdul Barr “The American”).

In Naba 100 #ISIS featured an infographic on #LasVegas attack & indicated the shooter, "Abu Abdul Barr al-Amriki," converted 6 months ago pic.twitter.com/5JhMFbU2Se

— SITE Intel Group (@siteintelgroup) October 5, 2017

A translation reads:

Las Vegas Invasion

Monday, 12 Muharram 1439H

A soldier from the soldiers of the Caliphate targeted a large gathering of 22,000 Americans at a concert in the city of Las Vegas, including nearly 600 killed and wounded

The executor of the operation, Abu Abdul Barr al-Amriki [al-Amriki = “The American”], 64-years old, converted to Islam 6 months ago

Method of Execution

The brother Abu Abdul Barr stationed himself for the invasion on the 32^nd floor of a hotel overlooking a concert, and opened fire continuously on the crowds using 23 guns and more than 2000 rounds, and died, may Allah accept him, after exhausting his ammunition

Results of the Operation

59 killed

527 wounded

Panic and confusion of security in America and a number of European countries

ZeroHedge reports that “Minutes after the newsletter was issued, counter-terror analysts focused on the specificity of that particular new information. Thus far investigators have failed to uncover or make public a motive for the mass attack which left 59 dead and over 500 wounded in the deadliest shooting in American history.”

Assuming that FBI and police investigators are truly coming up short on motive or ties to terrorism, a main perplexing oddity that stands out is the clearly immense amount of prepping and planning that went into the attack combined with the seemingly non-existent public messaging left behind by the shooter. According to Max Abrams, counter-terror expert and professor of international relations at Northeastern University, little about the attack currently makes sense, as inexplicably “the killer went to very elaborate efforts to kill the maximum number of strangers for no apparent reason.”

Although ISIS has repeatedly claimed credit for the shooting in the days after the attack, both his brother and authorities have dismissed the possibility. He had “no religious affiliation, no political affiliation,” Eric Paddock said in an interview, adding: “He just hung out.”

Yet ISIS’ latest claims in its Naba newsletter are giving pause to some analysts who have been monitoring the group’s multiple publications since their foundations.

All said, however, there is still zero actual evidence as to Paddock’s motive.