New York Times correspondent Rukmini Callimachi sent a series of tweets reminding people why they should be careful when labeling the Port Authority terror incident as a “failed” attack.
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“All you need to do to understand what ISIS claims is look at their history,” Callimachi wrote. “They claim anything that propagates terror/fear, regardless of whether most would label it as ‘failed.’ Examples include the Champs Élysée car incident, which injured no one.”
She went on to note that ISIS would praise alleged bomber Akayed Ullah’s ability to slip into “one of the most guarded areas of the world wearing a bomb.”
Read everything Callimachi had to say below:
1/ Former NYT Police Commissioner Bill Bratton tells @msnbc that man who detonated a bomb near Port Authority was from Bangladesh & was doing it “in the name of ISIS.” Bomb did not fully detonate & only injured suspect, plus lightly injured 3 others. https://t.co/AWTmOghB8F
— Rukmini Callimachi (@rcallimachi) December 11, 2017
2/ The suspect has been identified by police as a 27-year old of Bangladeshi descent with a last known address in Brooklyn. His name is Akayed Ullah. Already pro-ISIS channels are celebrating him as an “istishadi” attacker. pic.twitter.com/IkrO6kZm7E
— Rukmini Callimachi (@rcallimachi) December 11, 2017
3/ After every attack where the casualties are few, I see misinformed people labeling it a “failed terror attack” and theorizing ISIS won’t claim it because it was botched. Let’s be clear: This man walked into Times Square wearing a bomb. That is not a fail in ISIS’ eyes
— Rukmini Callimachi (@rcallimachi) December 11, 2017
4/ All you need to do to understand what ISIS claims is look at their history. They claim anything that propagates terror / fear, regardless of whether most would label it as “failed.” Examples include the Champs Élysée car incident, which injured no one. This (lightly) injured 3
— Rukmini Callimachi (@rcallimachi) December 11, 2017
5/ If you doubt my analysis, I offer Exhibit A, the shameless pleasure that ISIS sympathizers are taking in the panic they caused: “Terrified kuffar” is the way they described commuters. (“Terrified infidel”) pic.twitter.com/bU9G4i5PDV
— Rukmini Callimachi (@rcallimachi) December 11, 2017
6/ To determine the severity of what just happened, I am looking to learn the following: What channels (if any) was the bomber on in Telegram? Was he speaking to ISIS? Was he remote controlled? These answers will be on his phone, his tablet or his computer.
— Rukmini Callimachi (@rcallimachi) December 11, 2017
7/ We let ourselves get blinded by a low casualty figure. Don’t forget: There were 10 ISIS fighters who carried out the catastrophic 2015 attack in Paris, killing 130 people. But 3 of the 10 killed no one but themselves: https://t.co/zhCdE6Ql7o
— Rukmini Callimachi (@rcallimachi) December 11, 2017