US authorities identify suspect in New Orleans truck ramming attack

At least 10 people died and 30 were injured after a vehicle ploughed into New Year crowds in New Orleans' tourist district in the US state of Louisiana, local authorities have said.

A man who drove a pickup truck into New Year's revellers in New Orleans tried to "run over as many people as he possibly could", US police said.

Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick told journalists that the driver "was hellbent on creating the carnage and the damage that he did."

The FBI identified the suspect as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42, amid an ongoing investigation into the attack.

After ramming a Ford pickup truck into the crowd, Jabbar exited the vehicle and opened fire on police, prompting officers to return fire, the bureau said in a statement.

Jabbar was pronounced dead at the scene, and two officers were transported to a local hospital to be treated for injuries they sustained in the shootout.

Jabbar was a US citizen from Texas, the FBI said, adding that a Daesh group flag was located inside the vehicle.

"The FBI is working to determine the subject's potential associations and affiliations," it said.

"We are aggressively running down all leads to identify any possible associates of the subject."

Multiple weapons and a potential improvised explosive device were found inside the truck. Other potential explosive devices were located in the French Quarter while bomb technicians were working "to determine if any of these devices are viable, and they will work to render those devices safe."

"This man, this perpetrator, he fired on our officers from his vehicle when he crashed his vehicle. Two of our officers have been shot. They are stable," Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick told a news conference.

Emergency services transported 30 injured people from the scene.