The shooter who opened fire in a night club in Orlando city in the US, has turned out to be an IS terrorist. Before the attack, the gunman ‘Omar Mir Seddique Mateen’ called the ‘911’ service to declare his allegiance to the IS. The terrorist organization IS too has announced that the shooter was their member. The American investigation agencies have claimed that this attack is of the ‘Lone Wolf’ kind. The shooting that happened after the midnight of Saturday (in the early hours of Sunday the 12th of June), ended up taking 50 lives including that of the shooter.
The ‘Orlando shootout’ is allegedly the deadliest terror attack and mass killing executed in the US after the 9/11 attacks. President Barack Obama has called the Orlando killing an act of terror and an act of hate. He added however, that the FBI, the investigation agency of the US would be treating this as a terror attack. Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have both condemned the shooting. Launching an attack on President Obama over the Orlando shooting, Trump in fact even demanded that President Obama step down from office.
The Orlando shooter, identified as ‘Omar Mir Seddique Mateen’ is 29 and originally from Afghanistan though he was born in the US. He worked as a security guard in ‘G4S Secular Solutions’, one of the world’s largest private security firms.
Before he actually executed the shooting, Omar called the 911 service to openly pledge allegiance to the terrorist outfit ‘IS’. He even referred to the ‘Boston Marathon Bombings’ that happened in the US in 2013. The FBI had interviewed him in 2013 and in 2014 regarding incidents of terror but the investigation did not yield anything of consequence, the FBI clarified.
Following the attack in Orlando, the IS released a message on the ‘Amaq’ news agency. Barring the reference to Omar as an IS terrorist, no information was revealed. The local police and the FBI have indicated that this could be a ‘Lone Wolf’ kind of terror attack. The AR-15 rifle and a handgun picked up by the police at the site of the shootout are believed to be the weapons that the gunman used for the attack.
The IS had made a reference to the ‘Lone Wolf’ attacks in the course of their threats over the past year. The Intelligence Services of both the US and those of Europe had warned of Lone Wolf attacks by the IS and the Orlando shooting has indeed endorsed the gravity of the warning.
The political repercussions of ‘Orlando’
The terror attack in Orlando has had very strong political repercussions in the US. The GOP Presidential Nominee Donald Trump has sought the resignation of President Barack Obama.
“If, even after this attack, President Obama refuses to make an open reference to radical Islamic terror, he ought to step down. Just like Obama, Hillary Clinton would not be willing to make this reference and so she too ought to bow out of the race for President. The refugees entering the US spell danger and could be the ‘Trojan Horse’,” he warned. “This (Orlando) shooting is a dreadful attack on the US and in the circumstances, if tough and smart decisions were not taken, the country may not survive. The current American leadership is weak and ineffective” he said, launching into fiery rhetoric.
Trump’s tough stance against refugees entering the US could boost his support, especially in the light of the Orlando terror attack. Condemning the attack, Hillary Clinton linked it however, with the free sale and purchase of guns in the US.
Related posts:
Evidence points to Saudi hand in the 9/11 attacks
US Court rejects Saudi Arabia’s petition to quash 9/11 terror attack lawsuits
Trump and Putin vow to co-operate in fight against IS
Israel Prime Minister angered by Jerusalem attack, suspects ‘ISIS’ involvement
Will not hesitate to formally declare war against terrorism: Donald Trump
