Suspect in New Orleans attack served in Army, deployed to Afghanistan

WASHINGTON — The man who the FBI says drove a speeding truck into a New Year's celebration in New Orleans, killing 10 and wounding more than 30 others, had served in the U.S. Army at the height of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to his military records obtained by USA TODAY.

Shamsud Din Bahar Jabbar enlisted in the Army in 2007, a time when more than 100,000 U.S. troops had deployed to war zones, according to the Army and a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

His initial specialty was a human resource specialist, a job whose duties included payroll, mail delivery and processing medals. He became an information technology specialist, a common transition in the Army. As an IT solider, he would have been a trained as a computer-system troubleshooter.

Jabbar deployed to Afghanistan from Feb. 2009 until Jan. 2015. He was posted at bases including Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska, and what was then Fort Bragg in North Carolina.

After his deployment, Jabbar joined the Army Reserve and continued serving as an IT specialist until July 2020. He left the Army as a staff sergeant, and received an honorable discharge, according to the official who was not authorized to speak publicly.

An initial review of his record showed his time in the Army to be unremarkable, the official said. Jabbar mostly served back-office functions as a soldier.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: new orleans suspect army veteran