( CNN ) The Department of Homeland Security is increasing security checks at American airports because of concerns over new bomb-making instructions released by al Qaeda in Yemen ( AQAP ) , the terrorist group which U.S. intelligence agencies believe may have been behind the Charlie Hebdo attack in Paris , U.S. officials tell CNN . They say the new measures will feature additional random checks after passengers make it through security and will include passenger pat-downs , bag checks and hand swabs for traces of explosives . The new issue of AQAP 's Inspire magazine , released on December 24 , featured instructions on how to build what AQAP called a `` hidden bomb '' from easily purchasable materials . It also included directions on how would-be lone wolves worldwide can evade airport security scanners and sniffer dogs . In recent months , AQAP 's leadership has repeatedly stated hitting the United States is a priority . The new issue of Inspire made clear it viewed lone wolf attacks by its supporters in the West as an increasingly important part of these efforts . The magazine claimed the recipe was for a simplified version of the device used in an attempt to blow up a U.S. passenger jet over Detroit five years ago . On Christmas Day 2009 , Omar Farouk Abdulmutallab , the so-called `` underwear bomber , '' attempted to detonate an explosive device built by Ibrahim al Asiri , AQAP 's master bomb-maker , on a flight from Amsterdam to Detroit . The main charge -- a white powdery explosive called PETN which airport security scanners at Amsterdam airport did not detect -- failed to detonate as the plane approached Detroit . The new recipe does not involve the manufacture of PETN , a substance difficult for extremists to manufacture or obtain in the West . Instead , it contains similarities to a bomb formula put out by the group in the first issue of Inspire in 2010 called `` Make a Bomb in the Kitchen of Your Mom . '' That recipe was downloaded and used by the Boston bombers and several other extremists in plots on both sides of the Atlantic . In the new issue , AQAP suggested its external operation division had greenlighted sharing the recipe because al Asiri and his team had developed a new generation of more sophisticated devices . What is AQAP ? In 2012 Saudi and Western intelligence foiled a plot by AQAP to bomb a U.S. plane with an updated version of the underwear device . It is not clear if the recipe is viable or if it would have enough explosive power to endanger an aircraft . Nor is it clear if the device would have any chance of getting through explosive scanners at airport security . U.S. officials and explosive detection experts tell CNN that advanced detection equipment , including body scanners , should catch even previously hard-to-detect explosives like PETN , even if detection experts say they do n't provide a 100 % guarantee . But U.S. officials say advanced body-scanning technology is not available in some smaller U.S. airports . The authors of the latest issue of Inspire magazine claimed that if enough lone wolves launch attempts with their suggested device , some would get through . The magazine stated that even if the devices were detected or malfunctioned they would bring terror to the West . The key aim , the group stated , was to undermine the American economy . It listed several American airline companies , as well as British and French carriers as targets . It said that lone wolves should claim responsibility by writing emails timed to be distributed after their operations . In the 112-page issue the group also mentioned recent lone wolf attackers in Canada , the United States , Australia and France , calling a hatchet attack on NYPD police officers in Queens in October `` splendid . '' Counterterrorism officials on both sides of the Atlantic been concerned about technical instruction provided by Inspire magazine for several years . In August 2013 the British security agency MI5 revealed to the UK parliament 's intelligence and security committee that `` Inspire '' has been `` read by those involved in at least seven out of the 10 attacks planned within the UK since its first issue ( in 2010 ) . We judge that it significantly enhanced the capability of individuals in four of these 10 attack plots . '' Magazine story on bomb making prompts airport searches .
New measures feature additional random checks after passengers make it through security . AQAP 's leadership says lone wolf attacks that hit the U.S. , West are a priority . Terrorists ' Inspire magazine stated that even if new devices were detected or failed , they would bring terror to the West . Counterterrorism officials have been concerned about technical instruction provided by Inspire for years .