Islamic State says California killers of 14 were their followers
By Yasmeen Abutaleb and Rory Carroll
FBI investigating California massacre as 'act of terrorism' Reuters
Islamic State broadcast says followers of the group carried out California attacks Reuters
AP Source: Woman in shooting pledged allegiance to IS Associated Press
FBI investigates Southern California attack as act of terror Associated Press
California shooting investigated as 'act of terrorism' AFP
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SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. (Reuters) - Islamic State said on Saturday that a married couple who killed 14 people in California in an attack the FBI is investigating as an "act of terrorism" were followers of the militant group based in Syria and Iraq.
The group's declaration, in an online radio broadcast comes three days after U.S.-born Syed Rizwan Farook, 28, and his spouse, Tashfeen Malik, 29, a native of Pakistan, carried out the attack on a holiday party for civil servants in San Bernardino, about 60 miles (100 km) east of Los Angeles.
The two died hours later in a shootout with police.
U.S. government sources have said Malik and her husband may have been inspired by Islamic State, but there was no evidence the attack was directed by the militant group or that the organization even knew who they were. If Wednesday's mass shooting proves to have been the work of people inspired by Islamist militants, as investigators now suspect, it would mark the deadliest such attack in the United States since Sept. 11, 2001.
"Two followers of Islamic State attacked several days ago a center in San Bernadino in California," the group's daily online radio broadcast al-Bayan said on Saturday.
An English-language version of the broadcast was later released calling the attackers "soldiers" of Islamic State, rather than "followers" as in the original Arabic version. It was unclear if the English version was claiming them as members, or why there was an inconsistency.
OBAMA TOUTS NATIONAL RESILIENCE
President Barack Obama vowed on Saturday in his weekly radio address that federal investigators would find out what motivated the married couple to attack.
"We are strong. And we are resilient. And we will not be terrorized," Obama said.
Farook family attorneys, holding a news conference in Los Angeles on Friday, denied there was any evidence that either the husband or wife harbored extremist views.
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