It took just a few hours for the Islamic State (IS) group’s opportunistic propaganda machine to capitalize on the latest bloodshed in Florida and in France, with messages claiming the two attackers as its own. It may take the group longer to sort through the implications of a killer whose back-story of conflicted sexuality and heavy drinking is at odds with a carefully crafted public image of its fighters.

But whether the links were direct or merely aspirational, they were enough to thrust the IS to the centre of the U.S. presidential race and the debate over the role of Islam in the world. They were enough to cause France to re-examine who should be expelled over links to extremism.

Apocalyptic message

The group’s apocalyptic message is aimed as much at Muslims living in the West as it is at non-Muslims, hoping to persuade an undecided audience to adopt its extremist views and reject Western ideals of pluralism and tolerance, preferably with bombs and bullets. Facing defeat on the battlefield, it is taking victories where it can find them.The attack on a gay nightclub in Florida by an American-born Muslim during Ramadan and the stabbing of two police officials in France two days later would initially appear to dovetail perfectly with that worldview.

Tapping into deep-rooted fears

Omar Mateen’s killing of 49 people at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando tapped into deep fears that extremists are lying in wait to prey upon the West at home fears that IS fans at every available opportunity.“The uncomfortable reality is that attacks such as the one in Orlando become ‘Islamic State attacks’ simply because the attackers declare them as such. The validity of their assertions matters less than the consequences of their actions,” according to an analysis on Tuesday by the Soufan Group security consultancy. “Mateen may have sought to catapult his reputation from that of a homophobic mass-murderer to a ‘soldier of the caliphate,’ merely by parroting the group’s name.”

‘Mateen inspired by IS propaganda’

President Barack Obama said Mateen was inspired by the group’s internet propaganda, and during the attack, Mateen called 911 to offer allegiance to the IS.“With the tyrants closing the doors of migration, you should open the doors of jihad, and let them regret it,” IS spokesman Abu Mohammed al-Adnani said in a message late last month directed to Muslims living in the West.

He was himself … gay, alcoholic

But Mateen’s messy life shows the hazards for an extremist group that hinges its credibility on its faith. Pulse customers have described him as a regular at the gay nightclub, someone who drank heavily and could be disruptive when intoxicated.The IS has reserved one of its most gruesome methods of killing for suspected gays — throwing them to their death from rooftops. Alcohol is banned in the group’s territory, and anyone caught with it gets whipped, lashed or fined.

IS and the oxymoron

“IS is under pressure, hence more willing to take the risk of being proven wrong,” said Michael Horowitz, a senior analyst with the Levantine Group, using an alternative acronym for the group. “By blindly claiming Mateen … IS loses control over the narrative, a control that has been a top priority for the group thus far.”Already, there was a backlash on Twitter following reports that Mateen was probably a closet gay who drank alcohol. Critics ridiculed the image of a homosexual IS “soldier.” Some coloured the black IS flag with rainbow colours.

This says Obama was a porn buff

One post included a picture of a trim Mateen looking in his cell phone, reading sarcastically- “It seems love grew and Mateen turned to Daesh and then used his gun” to express it. A defender went on to belittle such reports saying there were claims after Bin Laden’s death that the al-Qaeda leader was a pornography fan.

The stabbing in France of a couple who both worked for French police bears the hallmarks of the IS group’s call to arms against the symbols of the West. The suspected killer, 25-year-old Larossi Abballa, had a background in jihad – A 2013 terrorism conviction in a network that sent people to Pakistan.

FB video

In a Facebook video that he filmed during the France attack, Abballa puzzled over what to do with the 3-year-old child of the two police officials he had just knifed, according to a police official with knowledge of the investigation. The official spoke on condition of anonymity for lack of authorization to discuss the footage.

A Facebook profile bearing the name Larossi Abballa which vanished from the internet early Tuesday that showed a photo of a smiling, bearded man. Two recent posts featured videos critical of Israel and Saudi Arabia. The last post publicly available was a mock-up of the European Championship logo highlighting the posters’ purported masonic and occult symbols.

“Some will say we see evil everywhere!” Abballa said in a message posted about 18 hours before the attack. The Paris prosecutor said he had a list of targets, including journalists and public figures, and had said he was responding to the IS calls to attack during Ramadan.

Whatever IS their link

Abballa and Mateen are dead. It will be up to investigators to pick apart their links to the extremist organization.When the IS claimed responsibility for the November 13, 2015 attacks in Paris and the March 22, 016 attacks in Brussels, it offered details on the assailants and the killings and a clear indication that the killers were under its command. In the case of the latest attacks, the links are murky at best but that may matter little for a group that is seeing defeat on the battlefields of Iraq and Syria, and is increasingly desperate to highlight any victory.

Look how it claims attacks

In both cases this week, IS’s Amaq news agency cited a “source” claiming each was carried out by one of its fighters leaving a shadow of a doubt the group normally avoids. But the attackers in France and the United States adhered to the basics of what the IS demands of its followers, which is a public declaration of support, said Horowitz, the analyst.Beyond that, for the IS, anything can be a win if it’s played right. A six-minute propaganda video emerged on Monday produced by Torgman al-Asawirti, an IS-linked Twitter user, a compilation that ends with the Orlando shootings and a tribute to Mateen- “He took a decision and immersed himself among the crusader Americans and responded.”

Hillary Clinton brought a close to the presidential primary season with a win on Tuesday in the nation’s capital and a meeting with dispatched rival Bernie Sanders, hoping to set a tone of Democratic unity heading into next month’s party convention in Philadelphia.Ms. Clinton’s win in the District of Columbia, the final primary of 2016, had no bearing on her role as the presumptive nominee, but it nevertheless marked a transition in the lengthy primary fight between the two rivals.In virtually identical statements released after meeting for more than 90 minutes, the Clinton and Sanders campaigns said the two rivals discussed their primary campaign, “unifying the party and … the dangerous threat that Donald Trump poses to our nation.” Neither spoke to reporters after the session at a Washington, D.C., hotel a few blocks from the White House.

Ms. Clinton told Mr. Sanders she appreciated his commitment to stopping Mr. Trump in the general election and the two discussed issues in which they share common goals, including “raising wages for working families, eliminating undisclosed money in politics and reducing the cost of college for students and their families.” Both candidates agreed to work together on the development of the platform at the upcoming Democratic National Convention.Before polls closed in Washington, Mr. Sanders vowed again to do all he can to prevent Mr. Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, from reaching the White House but he declined to endorse Ms. Clinton.

The Vermont senator had said the private meeting would help him determine how committed Ms. Clinton will be to the policy issues he has staked out during his 13-month campaign.“Our goal must not be to allow politicians, Donald Trump or anyone else, to divide us,” Mr. Sanders said outside his Washington headquarters, telling reporters he will continue to “fight as hard as we can” to transform the Democratic Party.Mr. Sanders said he would push for new leadership in the Democratic National Committee his campaign has sparred with Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the party’s chair along with a progressive platform in the summer convention and electoral changes, such as primaries that allow independents to participate and the elimination of superdelegates.“We need major, major changes in the Democratic Party,” he said.

Mr. Sanders was warmly received Tuesday by Senate Democrats at their weekly luncheon, where he offered an update about his campaign and some of the lessons he had learned during the past year. Lawmakers in attendance said Mr. Sanders did not indicate his future plans.“He had an opportunity to talk to us about his campaign and how it has changed him and what he has learned,” said Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo. “I think we all listened intently because we are anxious to always do better and grow as a party and be more inclusive.”Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., who leads the Senate Democrats’ campaign arm, said Mr. Sanders “absolutely will” support fellow Senate Democrats in the fall elections. “It was productive, it was good, it was vintage Bernie,” Mr. Tester said.

Mr. Sanders met last week with President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden, who both later endorsed Ms. Clinton, and signalled to Democrats that he hopes to play a constructive role in helping the party regain control of the Senate in the 2016 elections.The self-described democratic socialist says he will take his campaign to the convention in July and advocate for his policy issues in the platform while urging Democrats to be more inclusive of independents, young people and working-class voters, all of whom were pivotal in his victories in 22 states. But what that will look like still remains unclear, and Mr. Sanders has been soliciting advice from supporters on how he should take his campaign forward.

The mass shooting at a nightclub in Orlando, Florida, has commanded the attention of both campaigns and prompted Democrats to point to Mr. Trump’s call for a temporary ban on Muslims entering the U.S., an issue they view as a key contrast in the general election.Without mentioning Mr. Trump by name, Ms. Clinton warned during a speech in Cleveland on Monday that demonizing Muslims would only empower extremist groups. “We should be intensifying contacts in those communities, not scapegoating or isolating them,” she said.Mr. Sanders attended a vigil in his hometown of Burlington, Vermont, on Monday night to show solidarity with the victims. Pointing to Mr. Trump’s comments about Muslims, Mr. Sanders said the shooting was conducted by “one hateful person” and not committed by the Muslim people.

Looking forward, Mr. Sanders has begun helping Democrats preparing for congressional races and the battle to regain control of the Senate.An early test of his clout came Tuesday in Nevada, where a Sanders-backed congressional candidate, Lucy Flores, competed in a three-way primary.Mr. Sanders has opened up his campaign’s massive email donor list to several Democratic candidates, hauling in more than $2.4 million for his allies. Flores has been the top recipient of those appeals, collecting about $390,000 from an email Mr. Sanders sent in April on behalf of her and two other candidates.