Blog post attributed to Tennessee shooter urged "submission to Allah"

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FBI agents investigate the crime scene outside the Armed Forces recruitment center in Chattanooga, Tennessee, against which a shooter opened fire before moving on to a Naval Reserve facility, where he then gunned down four U.S. Marines. EFE

Washington, Jul 17 (EFE).- Authorities were investigating Friday the motives of the Kuwaiti-born U.S. citizen who killed four Marines in shooting attacks on military facilities in Tennessee and who, according to an unconfirmed report, recently posted a message on the Internet urging Muslims to "submit to Allah."

Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez, 24, was apparently gunned down by police after opening fire Thursday at an Armed Forces recruiting center and a Naval Reserve facility in Chattanooga.

The FBI said it was dealing with the case as an investigation into domestic terrorism ""until it can be determined that it is not," but for the moment has not confirmed what motivated Abdulazeez nor has it connected him to any Islamist or jihadist organization.

The private SITE Intelligence Group, which tracks organizations with jihadist ties around the world, said that Abdulazeez kept a blog where he wrote about Islam, something not yet confirmed by the authorities.

The blog, myabdulazeez.wordpress.com, has only two entries, both posted on Monday.

Describing life as "short and bitter," Abdulazeez wrote in the first post that Muslims should not miss "the opportunity to submit to Allah."

The second blog post, however, seems to encourage Muslims to keep an open mind when interpreting their religion, counseling against a "narrow vision" of the faith.

One of the four Marines slain in the Thursday attacks was identified Friday by his family as Sgt. Thomas Sullivan, a 40-year-old veteran of the war in Iraq.

Law enforcement officials have said it is up to the Pentagon to decide whether to officially identify the victims, but for now it has not done so.

Media outlets have published further information about Abdulazeez, who according to CNN was arrested last April on DUI charges and was to appear in court in late July.

According to The New York Times, Abdulazeez, who had an engineering degree, was a martial arts fighter from a middle class family, and his father was once included on the FBI's terrorism watch list but was later removed.

President Barack Obama said Thursday that everything indicates that "the responsible carried out these attacks alone" and promised that his government will be "thorough and prompt" in finding out exactly what happened.

Source: Blog post attributed to Tennessee shooter urged "submission to Allah"