ISIS flag seen in truck that kills 15 in US

Fifteen people were killed when a man drove a pickup truck displaying an Islamic State flag into a crowd of New Year's revelers early on Wednesday on Bourbon Street in New Orleans' famed French Quarter.

Thirty-three people were also injured when Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42, a US Army veteran whose last-known residence was in Houston, Texas, drove into the crowd before he was shot and killed by police around 3:15 am on Wednesday.

"An ISIS flag was located in the vehicle and the FBI is working to determine the subject's potential associations and affiliations with terrorist organizations," FBI headquarters said in a statement.

Investigators also found guns and pipe bombs, which were hidden inside coolers, according to a Louisiana State Police intelligence bulletin obtained by The Associated Press. The bulletin said both devices were wired for remote detonation, and a remote control was discovered inside the suspect's truck.

About 30 minutes after the attack, police found a homemade bomb near police cars parked at Orleans and Bourbon streets. The device was a pipe bomb with nails and plastic explosives concealed inside an ice chest, reported nola.gov, a city news website. A second bomb was later found in the 600 block of Bourbon Street.

Jabbar was killed after he left the vehicle and opened fire at the officers, police said. Two officers, in addition to the 33 people injured, were shot and they were in stable condition, the AP reported. Investigators recovered a handgun and AR-style rifle, according to a law enforcement official.

US President Joe Biden said on Wednesday evening that the FBI found videos that the driver had posted on social media hours before the attack in which he said he was inspired by the Islamic State group and expressed a "desire to kill".

"We do not believe that Jabbar was solely responsible," Alethea Duncan, an assistant special agent in charge of the FBI's New Orleans field office, said at a news conference.

"We are aggressively running down every lead, including those of his known associates."

"This is not just an act of terrorism. This is evil," New Orleans Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick said.

Strongly condemned

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres "strongly condemns" the attack and "extends his condolences to the families and loved ones of those who lost their lives", according to a statement from his spokesperson.

"He also wishes a swift recovery to those persons injured."

There were also deadly explosions in Honolulu, Hawaii, and outside a Las Vegas hotel owned by President-elect Donald Trump.

One person died and seven others were injured on Wednesday when a Tesla Cybertruck that appeared to be carrying fireworks caught fire and exploded outside the hotel, authorities said.

The Cybertruck pulled up to the glass entrance doors of the hotel and smoke started showing from the vehicle. Then a large explosion occurred and one person inside the vehicle was killed.

Biden said the FBI is looking into whether the Las Vegas explosion was connected to the New Orleans attack but had "nothing to report" as of Wednesday evening.

Jabbar served in the Army as a human resources specialist and information technology specialist from 2007 until 2015.

He joined the Army Reserve as an IT specialist until 2020, leaving with the rank of staff sergeant, according to an Army official.

He was also deployed in Afghanistan from 2009 to 2010. Jabbar had enlisted in the Navy in August 2004 under a delayed-entry program but was discharged a month later, a US Navy official told Reuters.

New Orleans City Council President Helena Moreno said Jabbar was wearing full military gear in the attack.

Kirkpatrick, the police superintendent, said the driver was "hellbent on creating the carnage and the damage that he did".

"It was very intentional behavior. This man was trying to run over as many people as he could," Kirkpatrick said.

New Orleans Police Captain LeJon Roberts said officers had a police car placed by an opening in the bollard barriers, which were in the process of being replaced for the NFL Super Bowl at the Superdome in the city on Feb 9, The New York Times reported.

"This particular terrorist drove onto the sidewalk, behind the police car to gain access to the 100 block of Bourbon Street," Roberts said.

The Sugar Bowl, a college football playoff game between Notre Dame and Georgia, which had been scheduled for Wednesday evening at the Superdome, was postponed until Thursday afternoon. Many students from both universities were in the city for the game, and at least one was hurt in the attack.

In another development, multiple people were injured in a mass shooting in the New York City borough of Queens late on New Year's Eve but no deaths were reported, a detective at the New York Police Department confirmed to Reuters.

Agencies contributed to this story.