Denmark terror suspect swore fidelity to ISIS leader on Facebook page

The man suspected of killing two people in Copenhagen swore fidelity to ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in a posting made on what's apparently his Facebook page just before the weekend shooting spree.The post pledges "allegiance to Abu Bakr in full obedience in the good and bad things. And I won't dispute with him unless it is an outrageous disbelief."

The suspect in Saturday's attack has been named as Omar Abdel Hamid El-Hussein, a senior member of the Danish government said. Police have not formally identified the gunman, who opened fire at a free speech forum in Copenhagen on Saturday before shooting several people outside a synagogue and then firing at police. Police killed him in the shootout.

The nation began the healing process Monday night with a candlelight vigil at which Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt appealed for national unity. Authorities estimated more than 40,000 attended the event.

"An attack on Denmark's Jews is an attack on everyone," she said. "The Jewish community is an important part of Denmark. We will stand together and continue the everyday life we know. We stand together as Danes."Lars Vilks, a Swedish artist who attended Saturday's forum, believes he was likely the target of the attack. He escaped unharmed and told CNN on Monday he has gone into hiding. Vilks, known for his controversial depictions of the Prophet Mohammed, is on an al Qaeda hit list. He declined to specify when he first went into hiding and said he is not afraid.

Charges have been filed against two men who are accused of helping to hide the gunman, the men's attorney said Monday. Lawyer Michael Eriksen said the men, 19 and 22, were charged with two counts of accessory to murder and five counts of accessory to attempted murder.

Eriksen told CNN that the two, who pleaded not guilty, have not been charged under Denmark's anti-terrorism laws.

At a news conference earlier Monday, Thorning-Schmidt said that the suspect was linked to a criminal group but at this stage, there are no known ties to a terror cell.

However, investigators do not rule out that the attacks might have been inspired bylast month's terror attacks in Paris. Some security experts say the nexus between criminal gangs and violent extremists in Denmark is closer than in other nations.Jihadist activity has a history in Denmark, and more than 100 Danes are believed to have traveled to Syria and Iraq to fight with militants.

A possible target speaks out

The carnage started Saturday afternoon when the gunman stormed a Copenhagen cafe where Vilks was attending a free speech forum.

Lars Vilks became a target after a cartoon depicting the Prophet Mohammed with the body of a dog.Once the attack started, Vilks noticed the gunman had more firepower with his rifle than the nearby officers with handguns."He was very well-equipped, and the policemen were not. So he had an advantage," Vilks told CNN. "Several of the policemen (were) wounded but still they tried to fire back."

Vilks said his bodyguards hustled him into a safe room.

By the end of the melee, the gunman had wounded three officers and killed a 55-year-old man. Police have not identified the deceased, but the Danish Film Institute said he was director Finn Noergaard.Vilks, who has survived two previous attempts on his life, became a target after his 2007 cartoon depicting the prophet with the body of a dog, an animal that conservative Muslims consider unclean.

"It should be possible to insult all religions in a democratic way," Vilks said after that cartoon published. "If you insult one (religion), then you should insult the other ones."

Like Charlie Hebdo editor Stephane "Charb" Charbonnier, who was killed in the Paris attack, Vilks was one of nine faces on a "Most Wanted" graphic published by al Qaeda's Inspire magazine for "crimes against Islam."

 

Others include a pair of Danish journalists who published 12 cartoons depicting Mohammed in the Jyllands-Posten newspaper; Florida pastor Terry Jones, who burned a Quran; and "The Satanic Verses" author Salman Rushdie.

Vilks told CNN he saw the threat against himself and others as greater now than before.

News Curtesy: www.cnn.com