The new issue of AQAP’s Inspire magazine, released on December 24, featured instructions on how to build what AQAP called a “hidden bomb” from easily purchasable materials. It also included directions on how would-be lone wolves worldwide can evade airport security scanners and sniffer dogs.
In recent months, AQAP’s leadership has repeatedly stated hitting the United States is a priority. The new issue of Inspire made clear it viewed lone wolf attacks by its supporters in the West as an increasingly important part of these efforts.
The magazine claimed the recipe was for a simplified version of the device used in an attempt to blow up a U.S. passenger jet over Detroit five years ago.
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Counterterrorism officials on both sides of the Atlantic been concerned about technical instruction provided by Inspire magazine for several years.
In August 2013 the British security agency MI5 revealed to the UK parliament’s intelligence and security committee that “Inspire” has been “read by those involved in at least seven out of the 10 attacks planned within the UK since its first issue (in 2010). We judge that it significantly enhanced the capability of individuals in four of these 10 attack plots.”
