The woman who took part in the ISIS-inspired San Bernardino massacre is linked to her native country's most notorious radical mosque, American officials believe.Sources have told Daily Mail Online that US officials handed over information to their Pakistani counterparts about links between Tashfeen Malik and the Red Mosque in Islamabad.
| The Red Mosque. Of course she was. Why on earth would she be linked to a "moderate" mosque... |
It is unclear currently how law enforcement and intelligence agencies in the US have connected Malik to the mosque.
| Perhaps because they did the leg-work they should have done in the beginning? |
The Red Mosque - Lal Masjid - is at the center of Islamabad has become known for its close association with Islamic fundamentalism. A year ago its chief cleric openly spoke of his support for ISIS.
In the immediate aftermath of the attack on Wednesday, a US intelligence official told Daily Mail Online that his agency was investigating Sayeed Farook's ties to known terror groups abroad, saying: 'The United States will leave no stone unturned.
'This is what we do. If he has ever communicated with ISIS, al-Qaeda, al-Nusra, or any other known Islamic threat group, we'll find out.'
| After the fact... |
Pakistani authorities were described as 'seriously thinking' of how to take action against Aziz, the chief cleric of the mosque.
Malik was born in Pakistan and lived there until the age of two then raised in Saudi Arabia, where she lived in Riyadh where her father, Gulzar Ahmed Malik is thought still to live. Saudi sources told ABC News that she had traveled back and forward between the two countries.
She returned to Pakistan in 2010 to study pharmacy at the Bahauddin Zakariyah University in Multan. The city, in the south of the Punjab, is believed to be where her family originally came from. Public records show that she was a high-achieving student. There are conflicting accounts of her educational achievements. She completed a three-year master's degree in pharmacy.
She was also listed as being in the fourth year of a D Pharm degree in 2014, although she may not have completed it.
| Some serious basic chemistry coursework required for a Pharm D. In case you're wondering if she would be comfortable mixing up pipe bombs in the Cali love shack... |
| Don't count on it. When 9/11 hit and we went after Afghanistan, George Bush and Colin Powell had the stones to tell Pervez Musharraf that either he'd cooperate or they'd deal with the immediate next president of Pakistan. I sure don't see Champ and Jahwn Kerry doing that to Nawaz... |
| What are the odds... |
| All that may be a cover story: the "match" was arranged by ISIS to get her into the country and work with Farook on the terrorist raid. |