Al-Qaida the Magazine: Build a Bomb in Mom's Kitchen

(July 1) -- Terrorists are the contributing writers and featured articles focus on bomb-making and jihadist recruiting in a new English-language propaganda magazine purportedly published by al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula.

The periodical surfaced online this week in what counterterrorism officials could be an effort to recruit English-speaking extremists in the U.S., Great Britain, Australia and other Western countries. If authentic, it would be the first propaganda publication from the terror organization that is published in English.

Citing a U.S. official, The Daily Beast reports that the electronic magazine, called Inspire, appears to be authentic. But there are also reasons to doubt the publication is actually published by AQAP operatives, according to The Atlantic, which raised concerns about the language and format of Inspire. It is noted that the magazine displays examples of poor command of the English language, which is uncharacteristic of the AQAP, and that its PDF file carries a virus, a problem not seen in past writings released by the group.

Inspire boasts a slick table of contents and even a Letter from the Editor. The features, however, are incendiary in nature and concerning to U.S. officials.

Inspire, an English-language magazine released by al-Qaida

Counterterrorism authorities said the al-Qaida magazine Inspire is part of an effort to recruit English-speaking extremists.

The magazine includes an article titled "How to Make a Bomb in the Kitchen of Your Mom," according to The Atlantic, which obtained parts of the publication. There are also messages from infamous terrorists like Ayman Al-Zawahari, al-Qaida's second in command, who pens a "message to the people of Yemen," and Osama bin Laden himself, who contributes a message on "how to save the earth."

The apparent editor-in-chief of the magazine is Anwar Al-Awlaki, the New Mexico-born cleric who is believed to have ties to the 9/11 attacks, the Christmas Day bombing and the Fort Hood, Texas, massacre. He is quoted on the cover of Inspire as saying, "May our souls be sacrificed for you!"

"The audience here is clearly the aspiring jihadist in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia who is not really fluent in Arabic or Dari but who wants to know more about jihad," former CIA analyst and Brookings Institution Fellow Bruce Riedel told The Daily Beast. "This is a way of getting it out to that audience and radicalizing it and inspiring future Fort Hood murders and future Times Square bombers who are already living in the United States."

Riedel said the National Security Agency is engaged in a "war on the Internet" and attempting to knock out jihadist websites. Reports said a majority of Inspire magazine's pages were simply jumbled computer code.