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Russia Attacks Ukraine with Drone Barrage, Kills One

Rescue workers clear the rubble of a residential building destroyed by a Russian airstrike in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Kateryna Klochko)
Rescue workers clear the rubble of a residential building destroyed by a Russian airstrike in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Kateryna Klochko)
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Russia Attacks Ukraine with Drone Barrage, Kills One

Rescue workers clear the rubble of a residential building destroyed by a Russian airstrike in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Kateryna Klochko)
Rescue workers clear the rubble of a residential building destroyed by a Russian airstrike in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Kateryna Klochko)

Russia launched a new barrage of drones in an overnight attack on Ukraine on Friday, killing one civilian and wounding more than 30 people in the center, south, and northeast of the country, Ukrainian officials said. The Interior Ministry said one person was killed in Ukraine's southern Odesa region as the Russian forces attacked with drones, damaging civilian infrastructure and residential houses.
According to the ministry's statement on Telegram, nine people were injured in the Odesa region. Four people were wounded in a drone attack on central Kyiv region and at least six private houses and several cars were damaged, the ministry said.
Russia also pounded the city of Kharkiv in the northeast with guided air bombs during the overnight attack, wounding at least 25 people, said Oleh Syniehubov, Kharkiv regional governor.
Russia has intensified its air attacks on Ukrainian cities and towns, sending swarms of drones almost daily with multiple night-time explosions and the constant sound of drones keeping residents awake.
Ukrainian officials have said frequent drone attacks were an apparent attempt to stretch Ukrainian air defense and increase pressure on the civilian population as the war against Russia nears the 1,000-day mark and Russian troops steadily advance in the east.
Ukraine's military said Russia launched more than 2,000 attack drones at civilian and military targets across the country in October.

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New Orleans Attack Suspect Acted Alone, Supported ISIS, FBI Says

Louisiana National Guard stands guard at a gated off area of the French Quarter near the scene of the car ramming on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, 02 January 2025. (EPA)
Louisiana National Guard stands guard at a gated off area of the French Quarter near the scene of the car ramming on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, 02 January 2025. (EPA)
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New Orleans Attack Suspect Acted Alone, Supported ISIS, FBI Says

Louisiana National Guard stands guard at a gated off area of the French Quarter near the scene of the car ramming on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, 02 January 2025. (EPA)
Louisiana National Guard stands guard at a gated off area of the French Quarter near the scene of the car ramming on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, 02 January 2025. (EPA)

A US Army veteran who drove a truck into a crowd of New Year's Day revelers had pledged allegiance to ISIS, but acted alone in the attack that killed at least 14 people, the FBI said on Thursday.

The suspect, who was shot dead at the scene after firing at police, has been identified as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a 42-year-old Texan who once served in Afghanistan.

He drove from Houston to New Orleans on Dec. 31, and posted five videos on Facebook between 1.29 a.m. and 3.02 a.m. on the morning of the attack in which he said he supported ISIS, the extremist militant group with fighters in Iraq and Syria, the FBI said.

In the first video, Jabbar explains he had previously planned to harm his family and friends, but was concerned that the media coverage would not focus on the "war between the believers and the disbelievers," FBI Deputy Assistant Director Christopher Raia said at a press conference.

Jabbar also said in the videos that he had joined ISIS before last summer and provided his last will and testament, Raia said.

"This was an act of terrorism," Raia said. "It was premeditated and an evil act."

New Orleans officials said the Sugar Bowl college football game that had been scheduled for Wednesday in a New Year's Day tradition would take place on Thursday afternoon. The city will also host the National Football League's Super Bowl next month.

The FBI said there appeared to be no link between the attack in New Orleans and the episode in Las Vegas on the same day in which a Tesla Cybertruck packed with gasoline canisters and large firework mortars exploded in flames outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas, just weeks before President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House on Jan. 20.

The injured victims in the New Orleans attack included two police officers wounded by gunfire from the suspect, taking place a mere three hours into the new year on Bourbon Street in the historic French Quarter. At least 15 people were killed, including the suspect, the FBI said.

Among the victims were the mother of a 4-year-old who had just moved into a new apartment after getting a promotion at work, a New York financial employee and accomplished student-athlete who was visiting home for the holidays, and an 18-year-old aspiring nurse from Mississippi.

Witnesses described a horrifying scene.

"There were people everywhere," Kimberly Strickland of Mobile, Alabama, said in an interview. "You just heard this squeal and the rev of the engine and this huge loud impact and then the people screaming and debris - just metal - the sound of crunching metal and bodies."

Meanwhile, authorities in other US cities said they had boosted security, including at Trump Tower and Times Square in New York City, adding that there were no immediate threats.

In Washington, police also said they had increased their presence as the capital prepares to host three major events this month: Congress' Jan. 6 certification of US President-elect Donald Trump's presidential election win, the Jan. 9 state funeral for former President Jimmy Carter, and Trump's Jan. 20 inauguration.

The FBI said an ISIS flag was found on the trailer hitch of the rented vehicle involved in the New Orleans attack.

US President Joe Biden condemned what he called a "despicable" act.

Public records showed Jabbar worked in real estate in Houston. In a promotional video posted four years ago, Jabbar described himself as born and raised in Beaumont, a city about 80 miles (130 km) east of Houston.

Jabbar was in the regular Army from March 2007 until January 2015 and then in the Army Reserve from January 2015 until July 2020, an Army spokesperson said. He deployed to Afghanistan from February 2009 to January 2010 and held the rank of staff sergeant at the end of service.