The Islamic State’s media arm claimed Tuesday that the Ohio State University student who carried out an attack on campus that injured 11 people was aligned with the terror group.
The group’s news agency, Amaq, labeled Abdul Razak Ali Artan “a soldier of the Islamic State” who “carried out the operation in response to calls to target citizens of international coalition countries,” according to the Site Intelligence Group.
Artan plowed a car into a group of pedestrians on campus, then got out and began stabbing others with a butcher knife Monday morning. The Somali-born student was stopped by a campus police officer who arrived in under a minute and fatally shot him after he ignored orders to drop the knife.
The claim made Tuesday could not be independently verified, but the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, has in the past described other attackers who carried out acts of violence across the globe as its “soldiers” without specifically claiming to have planned the attacks.
An FBI spokeswoman declined to comment on either the Islamic State claim or the ongoing investigation.
Local officials involved in the investigation have said they are exploring any connections to terrorism.
The Associated Press reported Tuesday that authorities are reviewing social media posts Artan made leading up to the attack.
One post warned against U.S. interference in Muslim countries and encouraged the U.S to make peace with the Islamic State if officials wanted to stop lone wolf terror attacks.
“America! Stop interfering with other countries, especially the Muslim Ummah. We are not weak. We are not weak, remember that,” Artan wrote, using the Arabic term for the world’s Muslim community.
Eight of the 11 victims had been treated and released from area hospitals Tuesday, according to the Columbus Dispatch. The three others who are recovering from their injuries are all expected to survive.
• Andrea Noble can be reached at anoble@washingtontimes.com.
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