Bomb-making instructions and potential targets for "lone wolves in America" to attack were recently posted to an online message board sympathetic to the Islamic State militant group, also known as ISIS or ISIL, Vocativ reports.
The post — entitled “To the lone wolves in America: How to make a bomb in your kitchen, to create scenes of horror in tourist spots and other targets” — suggests targeting popular tourist destinations, such as New York's Times Square and the Las Vegas Strip, as well as train and subway stations throughout the United States.
The instructions appear to be similar to those previously published by the al-Qaida magazine Inspire and reportedly used by the Tsarnaev brothers to build pressure cooker bombs used in their attack on the 2013 Boston Marathon.
More from Vocativ's report:
The post describes the necessary bomb-making ingredients as being easy to obtain, easy to dispose of quickly and difficult to detect, even by police sniffer dogs. It goes into detail about how to pack the bomb with shrapnel-like pieces of metal for maximum effect, what kinds of casings to use depending on where the bomb will be deployed, how to ensure the safety of the bomber and where to place a bomb to create the most carnage. They also advise would-be bomb-makers on how to cover their tracks so as not to leave evidence on the device. The conversation initiated by the post appears to involve knowledgeable individuals with a strong desire to spread their know-how to others.