Doubts raised about ISIL's claim in Texas attack

The Islamic State of Iraq an the Levant (ISIL) group claimed responsibility Tuesday for the assault on a Texas cartoon contest that featured images of the Prophet Muhammad, but counterterrorism experts said ISIL has a history of asserting involvement in attacks in which it had no operational role.

That suggests the two gunmen could have carried out their own lone wolf-style strike before they were shot and killed at the scene of Sunday?s shooting in the Dallas suburb of Garland.

Federal officials identified the pair as Elton Simpson and Nadir Soofi, both Americans who lived in Phoenix. Federal authorities had been scrutinizing Simpson?s social media presence recently but had no indication he was plotting an attack, said one federal official familiar with the investigation.

Rep. Michael McCaul, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, said a Twitter account linked to Simpson included images of Anwar Awlaki, a radical cleric killed in a CIA drone strike in Yemen.

Among the hashtags used by the account was ?#texasattack.? And one of the final tweets was: ?May Allah accept us as mujahedeen,? or holy warriors.

?Was he on the radar? Sure he was,? McCaul said from Turkey, where he was leading a congressional delegation.

The evidence does not indicate the attack was directed by the ISIL group, ?but rather inspired by them,? said McCaul, who was briefed on the investigation by federal law enforcement officials. ?This is the textbook case of what we?re most concerned about.?

White House press secretary Josh Earnest said U.S. officials are working to counter terrorist efforts to use social media to radicalize individuals in the United States.

ISIL recently urged those in the United States, Europe...