Self-radicalized terrorists more common

WASHINGTON, Nov. 15 (UPI) -- The man accused of killing 13 at Fort Hood, Texas, may have become a self-radicalized terrorist with the aid of the Internet, a terror expert alleged.

Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan may be the most recent example of an increasingly common type of terrorist, said Bruce Hoffman, a Georgetown University professor who studies terrorism.

Hoffman studies people who have become self-radicalized with the aid of the Internet and who commit violence without having to cross borders to reach their targets, The New York Times reported Sunday.

Such cases appear to be growing, with most of them involving people who have no direct ties to overseas terror networks, Hoffman said.

Al-Qaida leaders have encouraged a trend of self-radicalization through voluminous messages on the Web, Hoffman said, citing a shooting at an Arkansas military recruitment center, synagogues targeted for attack in New York and thwarted bombing schemes in Illinois and Texas.

Hasan, 39, is charged with 13 counts of murder in the Nov. 5 shooting rampage at Fort Hood. He was seriously wounded, but is expected to live.