As the FBI continues its investigation into New York and New Jersey bombing suspect Ahmad Khan Rahami, and a picture has begun to emerge – about his background, his travels, his past and his eventual radicalisation – some of the details are worrying.

While there has been much attention placed on Rahami’s trips to Afghanistan and Pakistan and his encounters with local law enforcement officials in a New Jersey restaurant, one detail the investigators have uncovered points to the extent of the global jihadi phenomenon. Investigators discovered that Rahami was inspired by the ideas of none other than Anwar al-Awlaki, a US-born leading propagandist and recruiter for al-Qaeda who was killed in a US drone strike in September 2011. Awlaki’s links to numerous terrorist plots are well documented and his influence on potential jihadis from beyond the grave has also been noted.

(Independent)