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| Boston investigators turn focus to suspect's 2012 trip to Dagestan | Boston investigators turn focus to suspect's 2012 trip to Dagestan |
| (8 days later) | |
| Islamist rebels in the Russian republic of Dagestan have denied any links to the bombing of the Boston Marathon. | Islamist rebels in the Russian republic of Dagestan have denied any links to the bombing of the Boston Marathon. |
| US investigators have begun to focus on a 2012 trip to Dagestan taken by Tamerlan Tsarnaev, the suspect killed during a dramatic manhunt on Friday, to see if he developed ties with the restive republic's violent rebel movement, the Vilayat Dagestan. | US investigators have begun to focus on a 2012 trip to Dagestan taken by Tamerlan Tsarnaev, the suspect killed during a dramatic manhunt on Friday, to see if he developed ties with the restive republic's violent rebel movement, the Vilayat Dagestan. |
| "The Vilayat Dagestan command … indicates that mujahideen from the Caucasus are not at war with the United States of America," the group said in a statement. "We are at war with Russia, which is responsible not only for the occupation of the Caucasus, but also of heinous crimes against Muslims." | "The Vilayat Dagestan command … indicates that mujahideen from the Caucasus are not at war with the United States of America," the group said in a statement. "We are at war with Russia, which is responsible not only for the occupation of the Caucasus, but also of heinous crimes against Muslims." |
| Dagestani rebels, falling under the Caucasus Emirate umbrella group seeking to create an Islamist state along Russia's southern and mainly Muslim flank, have terrorised the republic for years. They maintain training camps and safe houses throughout the republic, but have focused their attacks almost exclusively on security officials and religious figures who collaborate with the state. | Dagestani rebels, falling under the Caucasus Emirate umbrella group seeking to create an Islamist state along Russia's southern and mainly Muslim flank, have terrorised the republic for years. They maintain training camps and safe houses throughout the republic, but have focused their attacks almost exclusively on security officials and religious figures who collaborate with the state. |
| Sniper attacks are a regular occurrence. On Sunday, a homemade bomb exploded near a police officer's car but did not cause any injuries. | Sniper attacks are a regular occurrence. On Sunday, a homemade bomb exploded near a police officer's car but did not cause any injuries. |
| The statement also said the group followed an order issued by Doku Umarov, the head of the Caucasus Emirate and Russia's enemy number one, to avoid attacks on civilians. They said attempts to link the group to the Boston attack amounted to "co-operation with Russian propaganda". | The statement also said the group followed an order issued by Doku Umarov, the head of the Caucasus Emirate and Russia's enemy number one, to avoid attacks on civilians. They said attempts to link the group to the Boston attack amounted to "co-operation with Russian propaganda". |
| "If US authorities are really interested in establishing the true organisers of the explosions in Boston, and not co-operating with Russian speculation, then they should focus on the Russian special services involvement in the events," the statement said. | "If US authorities are really interested in establishing the true organisers of the explosions in Boston, and not co-operating with Russian speculation, then they should focus on the Russian special services involvement in the events," the statement said. |
| Russia has failed to put down its Islamist insurgency, originating from the separatist wars in neighbouring Chechnya that erupted following the fall of the Soviet Union. Tsarnaev, and his younger brother, Dzhokhar, currently in US detention, sympathised with the Chechen independence movement, according to social media accounts. The two reportedly never lived in Chechnya, torn apart by war for much of the 1990s, but spent five months in Dagestan from September 2001 until March 2002, when they moved to the United States. Their parents moved back to Dagestan a couple of years ago and remain in the republic's capital, Makhachkala. | Russia has failed to put down its Islamist insurgency, originating from the separatist wars in neighbouring Chechnya that erupted following the fall of the Soviet Union. Tsarnaev, and his younger brother, Dzhokhar, currently in US detention, sympathised with the Chechen independence movement, according to social media accounts. The two reportedly never lived in Chechnya, torn apart by war for much of the 1990s, but spent five months in Dagestan from September 2001 until March 2002, when they moved to the United States. Their parents moved back to Dagestan a couple of years ago and remain in the republic's capital, Makhachkala. |
| Relatives have suggested that the elder Tsarnaev had become radicalised in the US, before he undertook his trip to Russia in the first half of 2012, when he visited his father in Dagestan, as well as visiting Chechnya. | Relatives have suggested that the elder Tsarnaev had become radicalised in the US, before he undertook his trip to Russia in the first half of 2012, when he visited his father in Dagestan, as well as visiting Chechnya. |
| Unnamed security sources have told Russian media that they have no evidence that Tsarnaev had developed ties with Umarov's group. | Unnamed security sources have told Russian media that they have no evidence that Tsarnaev had developed ties with Umarov's group. |
| The Federal Bureau of Investigation repeatedly questioned Tsarnaev in 2011. That prompted the Department of Homeland Security to deny his 5 September application for US citizenship, the New York Times reported . The younger Tsarnaev, 19, had his citizenship application approved. | The Federal Bureau of Investigation repeatedly questioned Tsarnaev in 2011. That prompted the Department of Homeland Security to deny his 5 September application for US citizenship, the New York Times reported . The younger Tsarnaev, 19, had his citizenship application approved. |
| "We checked all the channels of information for possible links between the Tsarnaevs and Umarov, but found no facts to confirm that link," a source told RIA-Novosti, a state-owned news agency. | "We checked all the channels of information for possible links between the Tsarnaevs and Umarov, but found no facts to confirm that link," a source told RIA-Novosti, a state-owned news agency. |
| "If the Tsarnaevs had been linked to Umarov's bandit group then their names would have been in the security services database. We don't have such last names [in it]," the source said. | "If the Tsarnaevs had been linked to Umarov's bandit group then their names would have been in the security services database. We don't have such last names [in it]," the source said. |
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