ISIS gunman told cops he planned to strap bombs to Orlando hostages to stall them and give him time to massacre 49 people
Omar Mateen, 29, warned officers he had rigged the club with explosives to stop them coming in and saving lives
THE gunman who shot dead 49 people in an Orlando nightclub threatened to put bomb vests on hostages, it has emerged.
Omar Mateen, 29, claimed to be armed with explosives after taking around 30 people hostage in one of the club's bathrooms.
While there is no evidence this is true, the ISIS fanatic allegedly threatened to blow himself up and claimed he had rigged the venue with explosives.
Mateen, who pledged allegiance to ISIS during the attack, reportedly told police he would strap bombs to four hostages and place them in corners of the building.
He made a number of threats to police who were trying to negotiate with the killer, Florida city's mayor says.
Hostages who made 911 calls and text family and friends during the siege also confirmed the terrorist had mentioned explosives.
Mayor Buddy Dyer said: "We had a lot of information from the inside and they independently were saying yes, the bomber is about to put on an explosive vest."
His threats were apparently an elaborate lie to prevent police from storming the club and freeing hostages.
Around 30 people were eventually rescued when a SWAT team broke through a wall three hours after the shooting began.
Mateen was armed with a .223-caliber AR-15-style rifle and a handgun, but did not appear to have any explosives on him.
Police sent a robot in to sweep the building after ramming through a wall in an armed vehicle.
They had originally tried to blow the wall up, but were forced to break through when it was unsuccessful.
Police originally feared Mateen had strapped explosives to himself or victims after finding a battery pack next to his body.
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Dyer said: "When the shooter was killed, you could see a battery pack right next to him, which would indicate to us there's a detonator of some sort.
"There was also a bag near his body, so you would logically lead to the conclusion the bag contained explosives and he had some type of detonator that could have been a pressure detonator that was under the body."
Mateen, who was born in New York, was living in Fort Pierce, Florida, with wife Noor Salman and their three-year-old son when he launched the massacre.
Law enforcement sources claim Salman knew about her husband plans and had driven him to a gun shop to buy ammunition, as well as to Pulse and Disney World to scope out potential targets.
An FBI source told she feared her husband was going to attack a gay bar and tried to talk him out of it, but did not alert police when he left their home on Saturday night claiming he was going to visit friends.
The 30-year-old could now face charges over what she knew about her husband's plans.
It has also been revealed devout Muslim Mateen had written a series of Facebook posts railing against the "filthy ways of the west" in the hours before the massacre.
Omar Mateen blamed US airstrikes for killing "innocent women and children", and wrote "now taste the Islamic state of vengeance" the morning of the mass shooting.
Craigslist ad warns: "San Diego, you're next"
THE FBI are probing a Craigslist add calling for more Orlando style attacks and warning "San Diego, you're next".
The vile post, entitled "We need more Orlandos", praised the horror massacre that saw 49 die in the early hours of Sunday morning.
It makes the sickening claim against San Diego, before saying: "'Cleanse your community of the filth that gives decent gay men and women a bad name."
The horrifying post described America's worst-ever mass shooting as "long overdue' and called the 49 victims "walking diseases, bug chasers".
It went on: "Thank god for AIDs and 9-11 and now Orlando. San Diego you are next."
Darrell Foxworth, a spokesman for the FBI, confirmed the agency was looking into the post and attempting to identify the person responsible.
It comes after Houston police said they were investigating a Twitter threat against the city's Gay Pride parade on June 25.
In another he pledged allegiance to ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, writing: "America and Russia stop bombing the Islamic State."
He added: "May Allah except me."
His final post was a sickening warning: "In the next few days you will see attacks from the Islamic state in the USA."
The troubling posts were sent in a latter from the Senate Homeland Security Committee to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg after requesting further information on Mateen's online activity.
It was revealed the killer searched "Pulse Orlando" and "shooting" during the attacks to see if news had reached the media.
He reportedly called local news network News 13 in the middle of his gun rampage to pledge allegiance to ISIS.
Mateen told stunned producer Matthew Gentili: "I'm the shooter. It's me. I am the shooter."
Gentili said Mateen "started speaking Arabic" before announcing "he did it for ISIS".
Mateen was killed in a shoot-out with police after murdering 49 people and injuring 53 in the worst mass-shooting America has ever seen.
It was the worst terror attack in the country since 9/11 in 2001.
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