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| Tamerlan Tzarnaev and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev |
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, the younger of the two brothers believed responsible for the Boston Marathon bombings, was captured Friday night after a night filled with violence and a day-long manhunt.
His older brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, was killed during a firefight Thursday night.
An ABC6 report says three others have been arrested in connection with the Boston bombing suspect with Mass Live and WBSM confirming that three others are in custody and being question in connection with the Boston bombing suspect.
After local and state police and FBI agents allegedly searched Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s UMass Dartmouth dorm room, authorities swarmed to the Rockdale West apartment complex in New Bedford’s West End. Three people were arrested on scene, and are allegedly friends of the second suspect.
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New Bedford Police say the three people in custody are being questioned by the FBI.
One neighbor says he had a friendly relationship with Tsarnaev, and the three that were arrested share the same cell phone bill with the bombing suspect.
Details are emerging about the two Boston bombing suspects, specifically about the deceased older brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev.
CBS News, among others, are reporting the FBI had questioned Tamerlan back in 2011, "at the request of a foreign government to see if he had any extremist ties, but failed to find any linkage."
The mother of the Tsarnaev brothers remebers things a little different, in an interview with Russia Today:
But her biggest suspicion surrounding the case was the constant FBI surveillance she said her family was subjected to over the years. She is surprised that having been so stringent with the entire family, the FBI had no idea the sons were supposedly planning a terrorist act.
"They used to come [to our] home, they used to talk to me…they were telling me that he [the older, 26-y/o Tamerlan] was really an extremist leader and that they were afraid of him. They told me whatever information he is getting, he gets from these extremist sites… they were controlling him, they were controlling his every step…and now they say that this is a terrorist act! Never ever is this true, my sons are innocent!"
The CBS News article reminds readers this is not the first time the FBI has questioned people who later went on to commit terrorists acts.
This is an issue they've had in the past. They interviewed Carlos Bledsoe in Little Rock, Ark., before he shot up an Army recruiting station in 2009. They were also looking into Major Hasan Nadal before the Fort Hood shootings.
After initially denying they had investigated Tamerlan, Washington Post reports the FBI finally confirmed Friday that they questioned Tamerlan in 2011 at the request of the Russian government about possible connections to Chechen extremists, then Tamerlan left the U.S. to visit his parents in 2011.
Judicial Watch provides a little background on al Qaeda’s activities in Chechnya:
Years before these Chechen terrorists carried out the Boston Marathon bombings Judicial Watch uncovered critical intelligence documents detailing al Qaeda’s activities in Chechnya, including the creation of a 1995 camp—ordered by Osama bin Laden—to train “international terrorists” to carry out plots against Americans and westerners.Another detail that has emerged, which was mentioned on Friday here at WuA, was that Tamerlan had a YouTube channel basically devoted to Islamic terrorism. (Screen shots of the YouTube channel saved in case YouTube removes it)
The goal, according to the once-classified documents obtained by JW in 2011, was to “establish a worldwide Islamic state capable of directly challenging the U.S., China, Russia, and what it views as Judeo-Christian and Confucian domination.” Further, radical Islamic regimes were to be established and supported everywhere possible, from “sea to sea,” including Chechnya. “Terrorist activities are to be conducted against Americans and westerners…” according to the report issued by the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA).
Washington Post describes that:
....He appeared increasingly drawn to radical Islam. On a YouTube channel, he recently shared videos of lectures from a radical Islamic cleric; in one, voices can be heard singing in Arabic as bombs explode.
That YouTube channel was started Aug 17, 2012, the year after the FBI had been asked to investigate Tamerlan for extremist ties.
Taking speculation out of the picture, what is known, in short, is the Russians warned the U.S. government that Tamerlin could have extremist ties, the FBI had him on their radar, Tamerlan did not hide his devotion to Islamic terrorism as his YouTube channel is public, yet on April 15, 2013 he and his younger brother allegedly dropped bags, with bombs in them at the Boston Marathon, which exploded and killed three people and maimed and wounded up to 170 more.
Somebody seriously dropped the ball on this one.
[Update] Just one additional thought here. Perhaps our government is too busy watching those who believe Obama is a gun grabber, and those Evangelicals and Catholics, you know, the people being listed as "right-wing extremists" and "radical hate groups," to bother watching out for those that will actually bomb marathons!
[Update] The FBI has issued a statement on the 2011 investigation into Tamerlan Tsarnaev:
The two individuals believed to be responsible for the Boston Marathon bombings on Monday have been positively identified as Tamerlan Tsarnaev, now deceased, and Dzhokar Tsarnaev, now in custody. These individuals are brothers and residents of Massachusetts. Tamerlan Tsarnaev was a legal permanent resident and Dzhokar Tsarnaev is a naturalized U.S. citizen. Charges have not yet been filed against Dzhokar Tsarnaev and he is presumed innocent.
Tamerlan Tsarnaev, age 26, was previously designated as Suspect 1, wearing a black hat. Dzhokar A. Tsarnaev, age 19, was designated as Suspect 2, wearing a white hat. Both were born in Kyrgyzstan.
Once the FBI learned the identities of the two brothers today, the FBI reviewed its records and determined that in early 2011, a foreign government asked the FBI for information about Tamerlan Tsarnaev. The request stated that it was based on information that he was a follower of radical Islam and a strong believer, and that he had changed drastically since 2010 as he prepared to leave the United States for travel to the country’s region to join unspecified underground groups.
In response to this 2011 request, the FBI checked U.S. government databases and other information to look for such things as derogatory telephone communications, possible use of online sites associated with the promotion of radical activity, associations with other persons of interest, travel history and plans, and education history. The FBI also interviewed Tamerlan Tsarnaev and family members. The FBI did not find any terrorism activity, domestic or foreign, and those results were provided to the foreign government in the summer of 2011. The FBI requested but did not receive more specific or additional information from the foreign government.