Citizen Jihadists: ISIS uses ‘lone wolves’ to mount cheap, effective attacks on US soil

The Ottawa gunman had talked of going to the Middle East, but even though ISIS Tweeted out his picture, authorities have not disclosed ties to any terrorist group.

By Perry Chiaramonte:

Al Qaeda spent less than $1 million on its signature 9/11 attack, but Islamic State has found an even more cost-effective way to strike on American soil – inspiring psychotic sympathizers to commit “lone wolf” attacks that blur the line between random crime and terrorism, say experts.

Grisly photos and video of severed heads and mutilated bodies tweeted out and posted on the Internet, combined with explicit calls to kill, have allowed Islamic State to turn American citizens into weapons, say experts. The new technique requires no infiltration by sleeper cells and no planning, coordination or logistics. Yet, it is proving extremely effective at spreading fear, they say.

“If you can kill a disbelieving American or European, especially the spiteful and filthy French, or an Australian, or a Canadian, or any other disbeliever, then rely upon Allah and kill him in any manner or way however it may be,” urged a speaker on a video Islamic State released last month .

A law enforcement bulletin obtained last month by FoxNews.com warned that Islamic State fighters have increased calls for “lone wolves” to attack U.S. soldiers in America.

“You could literally search for soldiers, find their town, photos of them, look for address in Yellowbook or something,” a tweet attributed to Islamic State read. “Then show up and slaughter them.”

Linking seemingly random acts of violence to Islamic State can be difficult or even impossible. Wednesday’s frightening attack in Ottawa, in which a Canadian soldier was gunned down at the National War Memorial, was carried out by a self-styled jihadist, Michael Zehaf-Bibeau. Authorities have not disclosed any known connection to Islamic State, but a Twitter account linked to Islamic State tweeted out an image of Zehaf-Bibeau even as the international media was scrambling to identify him.

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