US bombers’ mom talked of ‘jihad’

Russian authorities secretly wiretapped the conversation of Boston bombers’ mother

Washington, April 28: Russian authorities secretly wiretapped the mother of the Boston bombing suspects and recorded her discussing ‘jihad’ in vague terms during a 2011 telephone conversation, CNN reported on Saturday.

The Russians only turned over the information to their US counterparts in recent days, the report said.

A US official with knowledge of the probe that confirmed the intercept to the US television network declined to confirm who was on the other line.

Asked about the report as he attended the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, attorney general Eric Holder declined to comment, saying it was an “ongoing matter”.

The conversation raises the possibility that red flags were missed that could have alerted US officials to the threat posed by the Tsarnaev brothers, accused of killing three people and wounding 264 during twin blasts at the Boston Marathon this month.

Both the CIA and the FBI flagged deceased Boston bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev over possible terror ties after Russian officials contacted the US agencies in 2011.

Reports said that Russian authorities had also alerted their US counterparts about concerns that his mother, Zubeidat Tsarnaeva, was a religious extremist, and that she was added along with her older son to a terror watchlist.

At the time, the FBI said Russia didn’t respond to requests for additional information, and US investigat- ors saw no reason to pursue the probe further

However, a senior American Senator on Sunday said the Russians haven’t provided them with the details information about the Boston bombings suspect. “The Russians really did not give us specific information, they just said kind of look out, we did an investigation on this,” Senator Dan Coats said.

Police says Tamerlan had returned to the United States from a six months trip to Russia during which he travelled to Chechnya and was radicalised. — Agencies