"It does appear that at the last minute he announced allegiance to ISIL, but there's no evidence so far that he was, in fact, directed by ISIL." President Barack Obama, speaking about the Orlando shooting in the Oval Office on Monday. Credit:AP Mr Obama said administration officials were examining various internet sites. The president"s comments on Monday came after law enforcement officials in Florida released new details about the massacre and the police response that followed, including why officers waited nearly three hours to rescue hostages trapped inside Pulse, a popular gay nightclub. In the end, police said they decided to storm Pulse after shooter - 29-year-old Omar Mateen - referenced bomb belts or explosives. Police said they freed dozens of hostages before killing Mateen in a shootout.. Shooter expressed affinity with opposing groups

While Mateen told a 911 dispatcher he was attacking an LGBT nightclub on behalf of the leader of the Islamic State, he also expressed solidarity with the 2013 Boston Marathon bombers and an American suicide bomber in Syria who was not affiliated with the Islamic State, Mr Comey said on Monday. Mr Comey said Mateen's statements added "confusion" about his inspiration for the attack, because Mateen had expressed loyalty to Islamist groups and figures that are opposed to each other. President Barack Obama, left, with FBI Director James Comey, right. Credit:AP While working as a courthouse guard in 2013, Mateen made "inflammatory and contradictory" statements to co-workers about having relatives in al-Qaeda, the radical Sunni terrorist group, Mr Comey said. Mateen also claimed to be a member of Hezbollah, Lebanon's Shiite militia, and his remarks drew an 11-month FBI investigation, Mr Comey said. Both groups oppose the Islamic State. Mr Comey said the FBI also briefly investigated Mateen in 2014 for allegedly watching videos by al-Qaeda propagandist Anwar al-Awlaki and attending the same mosque as an American who would later become a suicide bomber for the Nusra Front in Syria - another al-Qaeda affiliate opposed to the Islamic State.

Witnesses say they have seen Omar Mateen at Pulse on previous occasions. Both investigations were closed without charges. Targeting LGTB people 'relevant' Mr Obama said it's still unclear what the shooter's exact motivations were, but the fact that it happened at a gay nightclub was "relevant" to the investigation. "We're still looking at all the motivations of the killer, but it's a reminder that regardless of race, religion, faith, or sexual orientation, we're all Americans, and we need to be looking after each other and protecting each other at all times in the face of this kind of terrible act," he said.

Calling the Islamic State a "radical, nihilist, vicious organisation," Mr Obama said those who have perverted Islam have often targeted gays, lesbians and women. "So yes, I'm sure we will find there are connections, regardless of the particular motivations of this killer," he said. Mr Obama also said the United States had to think about the risks of firearms laws that allow easy access to powerful guns. Police have said the gunman was armed with an assault-rifle-type weapon and a handgun that were purchased legally. Reuters, McClatchy, Washington Post