Driver of exploded truck identified as soldier: Police

NEW ORLEANS/LAS VEGAS — Officials on Thursday identified the person found dead inside the vehicle that exploded outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas as a US Army soldier from Colorado, while the FBI said it was not yet clear if the blast was an act of terrorism.

The FBI said it had so far found no definitive link between the New Year's Day New Orleans truck attack that killed 15 people and the Tesla Cybertruck explosion in Las Vegas later on the same day, which left seven people with minor injuries.

The driver was identified as Matthew Livelsberger, an active-duty soldier from Colorado Springs, and police said he acted alone.

Livelsberger killed himself with a gunshot to the mouth, police cited a coroner's report as saying. Livelsberger was inside the vehicle when gasoline canisters and large firework mortars in the truck bed exploded, police said.

Livelsberger was assigned to the Army Special Operations Command and was on approved leave at the time of his death, an Army official said. The Army Special Operations Command would not comment on an ongoing investigation, a spokesperson said.

A US official told Reuters that Livelsberger had been awarded a Bronze Star for valor and an Army commendation for valor, along with a Combat Infantryman Badge.

The Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas is part of the Trump Organization, the company of Donald Trump, who will return to the White House on Jan 20.

In New Orleans on Thursday, about 36 hours after the city was rocked by a terror attack, bar worker Samantha Petry wiped her tears and placed flowers on Bourbon Street, which reopened with few hints of the trauma inflicted on the iconic nightlife hub.

Cleaning crews had washed down streets of the famed French Quarter after authorities largely concluded their on-site investigation of the New Year's truck-ramming attack that left 15 people dead and 30 others injured.

The FBI said that Shamsud-Din Jabbar, also a US Army veteran, had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State and appeared to have made recordings in which he condemned music, drugs and alcohol.

Agencies Via Xinhua