FBI probes Tennessee terror link

The 24-year-old killed four marines and injured three others on Thursday, before he was killed in a shootout with police.

Rather than wearing body armor, Abdulazeez had a load-bearing vest that allowed him to carry extra rounds of ammunition as he moved about. While the FBI said there was "no indication that he was directed or inspired by anyone other than himself," they were investigating any possible links he might have had with terrorist organizations.

Investigators believe Abdulazeez visited Jordan last year and possibly Yemen as well, US government sources said on Friday.

"We are exploring all travel that he has done and we have asked our intelligence partners throughout the world to provide us with any information they may have concerning his travel and/or activities while overseas," Ed Reinhold, FBI Special Agent in Charge, told a news conference.

Abdulazeez initially opened fire on a military recruitment center on Thursday before driving away in an open-top Mustang, and on to the Naval Reserve Center, some 6 miles (10 kilometers) away, where he carried out the killings. Police said Abdulazeez used at least two "long guns," considered rifles or shotguns, as well as a handgun.

Abdulazeez was born to Palestinian parents and raised in a suburb of Chattanooga. He studied engineering and was said to have been in the Middle East between April and November 2014.

'Short and bitter'

The SITE Intelligence Group, which tracks extremist groups, said Abdulazeez had blogged on Monday that "life is short and bitter." He had also said Muslims should not miss an opportunity to "submit to Allah," according to the group. Abdulazeez's father was said to have been investigated years ago by a Joint Terrorism Task Force for possible connections to a militant group, but cleared of any association.

However, Chattanooga mayor Andy Berke said the gunman himself had not given authorities any reason to place him under surveillance prior to Thursday's attacks.

Any trip to Yemen by Abdulazeez - a long established training ground Islamist militants - would be viewed with particular suspicion. The two brothers who led an attack in Jaunuary on the Paris offices of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo - claimed by al Qaeda - had visited the country in 2012.

The Reuters news agency reported on Friday that Abdulazeez had spent 10 days working as an engineer at an Ohio nuclear plant, before he was let go after failing a background check.

rc/gsw (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters)