World

California shootings couple 'not part of terror cell'

Members of the media crowd into a child's room in an apartment in Redlands, California, shared by San Bernardino shooting rampage suspects Syed Farook and his wife, Tashfeen Mali. Picture by Chris Carlson, AP 
Members of the media crowd into a child's room in an apartment in Redlands, California, shared by San Bernardino shooting rampage suspects Syed Farook and his wife, Tashfeen Mali. Picture by Chris Carlson, AP  Members of the media crowd into a child's room in an apartment in Redlands, California, shared by San Bernardino shooting rampage suspects Syed Farook and his wife, Tashfeen Mali. Picture by Chris Carlson, AP 

THE husband and wife who carried out the California mass shooting showed signs of radicalisation but were not part of a broader network, the FBI says.

But Director James Comey noted there's still "a lot evidence that doesn't quite make sense".

Syed Farook and Tashfeen Malik didn't appear on the FBI's "radar screen" before the shooting on Wednesday that killed 14 in San Bernardino, California, said Mr Comey.

An IS-affiliated news agency Aamaq says the couple were "supporters" of the Islamic State group, but it stopped short of claiming responsibility for the attack.

The couple opened fire at a holiday banquet for Farook's co-workers before dying in a gunbattle with police.

The FBI is treating the attack as an "act of terrorism".

The couple attempted to destroy evidence, including crushing two mobile phones and discarding them in a rubbish bin, said David Bowdich, assistant director of the FBI's Los Angeles office.

Malik praised the leader of the IS group in a Facebook post just minutes into the attack, a Facebook executive said.

Earlier on Friday, the FBI said it was investigating the deadly mass shooting in California as an "act of terrorism".

The husband and wife shooters attempted to destroy evidence, including crushing two mobile phones and discarding them in a rubbish bin, said David Bowdich, assistant director of the FBI's Los Angeles office.

He said authorities were continuing to investigate the case to understand the motivations of the pairs and whether they were planning more attacks. Fourteen people died in the San Bernardino massacre.