Canada killings followed advice from al-Qaeda and Islamic State jihadist guidebook

While they may not have officially been designated as jihadists, two suspected extremists who killed Canadian soldiers in shooting and driving rampages followed instructions issued by al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group to the letter.

The country was left reeling on Wednesday after a gunman shot dead a soldier and stormed the parliament in Ottawa, just two days after another suspected Islamist militant ran over two military personnel with his car in Quebec, killing one.

These acts appear to follow what al-Qaeda has been preaching for years through articles or videos posted online, calling on recruits and volunteers to go it alone without specific orders or training.

Members of the group founded by Osama bin Laden had always been scattered across parts of Pakistan and Afghanistan among other nations and were the regular target of United States drone attacks, making it hard for them to group together all those who wanted to volunteer for jihad.

As a result, in late 2010, the English-language jihadist magazine Inspire, published from Yemen by American Muslim convert Adam Gadahn, lauded individual jihad.

"Muslims in the West have to remember that they are perfectly placed to play an important and decisive part in the jihad against the Zionists and Crusaders ... So what are you waiting for?" he asked in a video posted online some time later to reinforce the message.