Could the Boston Bombers Have Been Stopped? Paris Suspect Backed Out of Suicide Bombing, Prosecutor Says

Transcription

1 Could the Boston Bombers Have Been Stopped? By JAMES GORDON MEEK and BRIAN ROSS April 15, 2014 Share with Facebook! Share with Twitter Could the Boston Bombers Have Been Stopped? Paris Suspect Backed Out of Suicide Bombing, Prosecutor Says Pilot or Mechanical Error Likely Caused Plane Crash: Officials How One Lucky Family Survived the 'Journey of Death' Kate's First Solo Interview Reveals Family Bonds Alaska Airlines Passenger's Phone Catches Fire Mid-Flight 40 A year after the Boston Marathon attacks, there are troubling What to Know About the Worldwide Hacker Group Anonymous 1 of 12 19/03/16 20:42

2 ! # SHARES Election new questions about whether the bombings could have been U.S. thwarted and how two brothers from Chechnya learned Menu to World allegedly execute their terrorist attack so efficiently, officials tell ABC News. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 20, and his brother Tamerlan, 26, are accused of detonating two bombs at the finish line of the Boston Marathon, killing three people and injuring more than 260 others a year ago today. Tamerlan was killed in a shootout with police days after the bombing, but Dzhokhar was arrested and now sits in jail, isolated from other inmates and awaiting trial. He has pleaded not guilty. But many current and former senior officials who have investigated the tragedy told ABC News that they question whether the brothers might have been neutralized by a more thorough FBI investigation before the attacks, and whether as bombmaking novices they had to have had help in allegedly building several different types of sophisticated devices, which they used more successfully than any other homegrown terrorists since 9/11. I do think that had we taken a second look, we could ve San Francisco - Oakland stopped - San this, JoseSan Rep. Michael Francisco McCaul, - Oakland R-Texas, - San Chairman Jose of the Houston Houston House Committee on Homeland Security, told ABC News. Durham - Raleigh - FayettevillDurham - Raleigh - Fayettevill Fresno Fresno FULL COVERAGE: Boston Marathon Bombing Anniversary abc.com abc.com According to court documents, the inspector general's report and sources briefed on the federal investigation of the Hulk Hogan Awarded $115 Million in Gawker Lawsuit What We Know About the Terror Suspect Captured in Belgium Inside Molenbeek, the So-Called 'Jihadi Capital of Europe' Prince Harry Opens Up on Princess Diana, Having Kids Mexican Actress Explains Seemingly Flirtatious 'El Chapo' Texts Anti-Trump Ad Spending Tops $63 Million How Much Snow to Expect 2 of 12 19/03/16 20:42

3 Election attacks, the FBI and prosecutors contend that both Tsarnaev With Spring Nor'easter U.S. brothers learned to build their improvised explosive Menu devices World using pressure cookers as well as three pipe bombs by downloading instructions off the Internet. But ABC News has learned that many within the FBI, law enforcement and counter-terrorism strongly disagree that they could have become good enough to make the improvised explosive devices (IEDs) from online how-to s and suspect an expert taught or instructed Tamerlan on the craft of bombmaking while he was overseas in For a novice pair of IED builders and emplacers, for them to work as they did, to be effective, that indicates to me a level of sophistication that they received some sort of training from somewhere, retired Army Lt. Gen. Mike Barbero, former director of the Joint IED Defeat Organization, told ABC News. Barbero headed the organization at the time of the marathon attacks. Prosecutors allege that the Tsarnaevs got recipes for the pressure-cooker IEDs -- common on battlefields in Afghanistan -- and elbow pipe bombs from online San Francisco - Oakland instructions - San published JoseSan Francisco four years - ago Oakland in Inspire, - San Jose a terrorist Houston Houston magazine published by al Qaeda s affiliate al Qaeda in the Durham - Raleigh Arabian - FayettevillDurham Peninsula (AQAP). - Raleigh AQAP - Fayettevill offered wannabe jihadis Fresno Fresno instructions for both types of IEDs under the headline, Make Partner SitesPartner a bomb Sites in the kitchen of your mom. abc.com abc.com But an analysis of the bombs done by FBI technicians at the This Frog's Shrill Mating Song Is Driving Southern California Residents Nuts Olivia Wilde Stars in Touching PSA for World Down Syndrome Day 7 Potential Running Mates for Donald Trump Trump Questions Whether Mitt Romney is Mormon Marine Killed in Iraq, Other Americans Wounded Suicide Bomb Attack in Istanbul Kills 5, Including Israeli Presidential Candidates Get 3 of 12 19/03/16 20:42

4 Election Terrorist Explosive Device Analytical Center (TEDAC) in Set to Court the Pro-Israel Vote U.S. Quantico, Virginia in late April 2013 found that the bombs Menu in World Boston had a much more sophisticated design than that in the online magazine, including differences in the initiators, power source and switch/trigger, which utilized a toy car Officer Shot in Chicago Suburb Has remote control. Inspire never contained instructions for that Life-Threatening Injuries type of switch/trigger used to remotely set off the IEDs but had directions for a different type using a motorcycle remote Train Hero's Father Charged in California Arson starter. Fraud Scheme While the RC concept is similar, TEDAC assesses INSPIRE would not provide an individual with the appropriate details to translate these instructions for use with RC toy car components. Such construction would likely require previous knowledge of, or additional research into, RC toy car circuitry, a TEDAC analysis document said. They didn t get it just from online and definitely didn t get it just from reading Inspire magazine. So where did they get New York CityNew this York training City and how did they acquire the skill? Barbero said. The indictment of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev alleges that he and Tamerlan armed themselves with five IEDs, a Ruger P95 San Francisco - Oakland 9mm semiautomatic - San JoseSan handgun, Francisco ammunition - Oakland - for San the Jose Ruger, a Houston Houston machete and a hunting knife before engaging in their April Durham - Raleigh 19 - FayettevillDurham shootout with Watertown - Raleigh police. - Fayettevill The bombs included a Fresno Fresno pressure cooker IED, three pipe bombs and a Tupperware Partner SitesPartner tub Sites filled with black powder and a fuse -- they exploded all abc.com abc.com but the tub during a firefight. The gun was bought illegally from a suspect still under investigation in another state, a law Pope Francis Joins Instagram 2 Houston Robbery Suspects Arraigned After Police Shooting Captive British Journalist Appears in New IS Video Pop Icon Prince Writing Memoir 'The Beautiful Ones' Ravens CB Tray Walker Dies of Dirt Bike Crash Injuries 2 Killed in Small Plane Crash at Tampa Airport College Students Create 4 of 12 19/03/16 20:42

5 Election enforcement official told ABC News. Backpack for Students on Autism Spectrum U.S. Menu World They also threw small black powder grenades called crickets at police during a car chase, sources said. Allegedly creating and detonating such different IEDs put the Tsarnaevs in a class by themselves as post-9/11 homegrown terrorists, who typically have tried to perfect just one IED design and have rarely succeeded in detonating any at all, officials said. It is absolutely a major unanswered question of how they got that good and whether they had assistance of some kind, a senior counter-terrorism official told ABC News last week. They had a better success rate than AQAP's master bombmaker al-asiri, who created the underwear and printer cartridge bombs snuck aboard airplanes, which failed to detonate. New York CityNew Ed York Davis, Citywho was Boston Police Commissioner at the time of the bombings, has his own doubts and told ABC News the devices were technically challenging. San Francisco - Oakland The questions - San JoseSan that arise Francisco now [are] - Oakland about what - San it Jose took to put Houston Houston these together Davis said. Durham - Raleigh - FayettevillDurham - Raleigh - Fayettevill Fresno Fresno McCaul's staff recently completed a year-long investigation of Partner SitesPartner the Sites Boston attacks. It found federal counter-terrorism officials abc.com abc.com failed to alert Massachusetts law enforcement that Russia's security services in 2011 informed the FBI and later CIA that Black Server Quits After 'Discriminated Against' Over Her Hair Ben Affleck Says Back Tattoo Is Fake Gwen Stefani On Her Split: 'I've Done Nothing Wrong' Tax Tip: Will Low Gas Prices Impact Your Tax Return? 5 of 12 19/03/16 20:42

6 Election Tamerlan Tsarnaev and his mother Zubeidat Tsarnaeva were U.S. suspected of being radicalized Islamists. Menu World I think it's very clear today, after the investigation we conducted and the investigation the inspector general conducted of the intelligence community and the FBI that that foreign connection is real and that he was over there meeting with extremists, McCaul said. He was greater radicalized and it s very likely he did receive training. An intelligence community inspector general report released last week revealed that the FBI only interviewed Tamerlan and his parents in Boston but not other associates or an ex-girlfriend he had assaulted. The FBI found nothing to support the Russian claim -- which stemmed from an intercepted phone call by Russian spy services. Now in fairness to the FBI, the Russians had information they didn t share with the FBI after their warning came in and New York CityNew that s York unfortunate, City McCaul said. McCaul and other officials were also quick to state that they see no evidence the Tsarnaevs were acting on orders of a foreign terrorist group. But extremists likely offered Tamerlan expertise, he agreed. Houston Houston Tamerlan Tsarnaev soon faded as a counter-terrorism priority Durham - Raleigh and - FayettevillDurham he was able to travel - Raleigh to Chechnya - Fayettevill and Dagestan in Fresno Fresno January He returned in July without facing further Partner SitesPartner investigative Sites scrutiny partially because his name was abc.com abc.com misspelled in a security database -- and soon began posting jihadi material including videos on YouTube. 6 of 12 19/03/16 20:42

7 Election Davis said he believed it was extremely important for law U.S. enforcement to answer any lingering mysteries related Menu to the World bombing. We need to stay vigilant on these issues. We need to continue to ask questions and we need to make sure we have the best understanding possible of the situation so it doesn t happen again, he said. [We] also have to understand the nature of the conspiracy We have to understand as much as possible. FBI and Justice Department officials declined comment, citing Dzhokhar Tsarnaev s upcoming death penalty trial. CLICK HERE to return to the ABC News homepage. Sponsored Stories Houston Houston # Durham - Raleigh - FayettevillDurham - Raleigh - Fayettevill 10 Comments Fresno Fresno abc.com abc.com Recommended by 7 of 12 19/03/16 20:42

8 Election U.S. Paris World Attack Suspect Salah Abdeslam Backed Out of Suicide Bombing, Prosecutor Says By EMILY SHAPIRO Mar 19, 2016, 3:19 PM ET Share with Facebook WATCH Paris Terror Attack Suspect Arrest Details Start to Emerge Houston Houston 54 Suspected Paris attacker Salah Abdeslam said he planned to Durham - Raleigh SHARES commit - FayettevillDurham a suicide bombing - Raleigh at France's - Fayettevill main stadium but then Fresno Fresno backtracked and abandoned his explosive belt, Paris! prosecutor Francois Molins said. abc.com abc.com! Menu Share with Twitter Belgian Federal Police via AP Photo 8 of 12 19/03/16 20:42

9 # Election Abdeslam made the admission today to Belgian U.S. investigators, Molins said. Menu World His first declarations are to be taken with caution and leave open a series of questions that Salah Abdeslam will have to explain, Molins said. Abdeslam, who was captured in Molenbeek, Brussels, Friday after five months on the run, plans to fight an extradition to France, his lawyer told reporters Saturday. The Months-Long Manhunt for Paris Attacks Fugitive Salah Abdeslam What We Know About Salah Abdeslam, the Paris Terror Suspect Captured in Belgium We will refuse the extradition, lawyer Sven Mary told reporters. Molins said, This refusal will... only lead to a longer procedure. French and Belgian prosecutors are working on another legal exchange different from an extradition, that would enable Houston Houston Belgium to give the suspect to France without government Durham - Raleigh - FayettevillDurham - Raleigh - Fayettevill interference. Fresno Fresno French officials said they expect Abdeslam to be transferred abc.com abc.com to France within 60 to 90 days. 9 of 12 19/03/16 20:42

10 The Belgian federal prosecutor has charged Abdeslam with Election participation in terrorist murder and participation in Menu the U.S. activities of a terrorist organization. World & Log In He is being held in the maximum-security area of the Bruges prison, a spokeswoman for the Belgian prison administration told ABC News. Mary told reporters Abedeslam is collaborating with the Belgian justice. Houston Houston AP Durham - Raleigh - Fayetteville Durham - Raleigh - Fayetteville In this framegrab taken from VTM, armed police officers escort a suspect to a poli Fresno Fresno abc.com abc.com Abdeslam was found Friday in an apartment only a few yards away from his family home in Molenbeek. He was 10 of 12 19/03/16 20:42

11 hospitalized then released to police custody. Election Menu U.S. Abdeslam allegedly rented the car that carried a team of World & Log In terrorists to the Stade de France soccer stadium in Paris on Nov. 13, as well as the car that carried another team of terrorists to the Bataclan theater in Paris, where the majority of the 130 victims were killed. He is believed to have driven one of the cars that night. It is also believed Abdeslam was expected to carry out a subsequent attack in the 18th Arrondissement of Paris. However, his exact role in the attacks remains unclear. Houston Houston Durham - Raleigh - Fayetteville Durham - Raleigh - Fayetteville Fresno Fresno Thierry Chesnot/Getty Images abc.com abc.com Medics evacuate an injured person on Boulevard des Filles du Calvaire, close to t 11 of 12 19/03/16 20:42

12 Election Get real-time updates as this story unfolds. To start, just U.S. star this story in ABC News' phone app. Download Menu ABC World News for iphone here or ABC News for Android here. 72 Comments Houston Houston Durham - Raleigh - FayettevillDurham - Raleigh - Fayettevill Fresno Fresno abc.com abc.com # 12 of 12 19/03/16 20:42