Tashfeen Malik and her husband Syed Rizwan Farook. who gunned down people at a holiday party for a health center in San Bernardino, California, were affiliated with ISIS. They killed 14 of Farook’s co-workers and injured another 21 people, resulting in the belief that the killing spree was a work-related gripe. ISIS terrorists however made a declaration on their official radio station- Al Bayan – on Saturday, days after the Wednesday attack, stating: “We pray to God to accept them as martyrs.”

The FBI said that the attack is being treated as an “act of terrorism” after taking over the investigation on Friday. There was evidence of “extreme planning”. The radio declaration refered to the couple as “supporters” rather than previous killings where the perpetrators were called “knights” or “soldiers” and this could mean that the terror group that has urged supporters to carry out lone wolf attacks did not issue a directive.

During the attack, Mlik had posted  pledge of allegiance ot ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi on Facebook using an account with a different name. Later, the post was taken down because it violated Facebook’s community standards that include a prohibition against violence and the promotion of terrorism.

Relatives of the couple state that they did not know that the couple held radical views, nor were they aware of the makeshift bomb lab in the apartment that the couple shared with their 6-month-old daughter. Police found pipe bombs, rounds of ammunition and guns.