DEBKAfile Exclusive Analysis April 16, 2013, 7:45 PM (GMT+02:00) Tags:
Police and agents search Saudi suspects apartment in Revere outside Boston.
FBI Special Agent Richard Deslauriers told reporters Tuesday, April 16, that the probe had no leads 18 hours after two explosions blew up at the annual Boston Marathon’s finishing line, killing three people and injuring 176 – 17 critically. DEBKAfile’s counterterrorism sources can disclose however that the investigation has in fact homed in on a suspected terror cell of three Saudi nationals, very possibly tied to Al Qaeda.
The flat they share in the Revere, Massachusetts, near Boston, was searched after the questioning of one of the suspects, a Saudi student, who was hospitalized with badly burned hands. One of his flatmates was taken into custody over “visa problems.” A third is on the run. All three hail from a prominent Saudi family belonging to a tribe from the Asir province bordering on Yemen.
The search for the wanted man led to the grounding of a plane at Logan International Airport Tuesday. The investigation has meanwhile broadened out to places in and outside Boston in a search for the cell’s accomplices.
The origins of the Saudi cell, if confirmed, strongly suggest that Al Qaeda of Arabia – AQAP –succeeded in planting a cell in the United States for the bombing attack in Boston – and possibly more than one in other parts of the US. Asir Province is known as a hotbed of resistance to the Saudi throne in Riyadh.
US law enforcement authorities in charge of the probe are refusing to confirm any suspects are in custody, or even leads to whoever carried out the bombings. President Barack Obama said in his second statement in 24 hours: “…we don’t know if who was behind the bombings were foreign, domestic or individual.” The President was forced to admit for the first time that the FBI was investigating “an act of terror.”
DEBKAfile earlier Tuesday was alone in reporting that the FBI Boston Marathon probe pointed to Mid-East terrorists with domestic support.
Read on:
The lack of adequate security jumps to the eye after twin bombings struck the high-prestige Boston Marathon Monday, April 15, killing three people, including an 8-year old boy and injuring 140 – seventeen critically.
This was the world’s oldest annual marathon, with 28,000 runners representing athletes from every US state and more than 90 nations. Yet there was no sign of dogs along the route trained to sniff out explosives or a police helicopter overhead with sensors for detecting explosives or traces thereof on the person of anyone present around the finishing line after the blasts.
Tuesday morning, while interviewing witnesses and collecting photos taken by spectators, the Boston police and security officers announced they were seeking two wanted men: One was described as swarthy, speaking with a foreign accent, his face partially hidden by a hood, who was carrying a large backpack and kept on trying to enter a closed section near the finishing line. This was the first time an area was disclosed as having been closed to the public.
The second man was photographed by a spectator walking on a rooftop overlooking the finishing line after the second bomb exploded.
After the event, police searches turned up and defused another three explosive devices. Had that search taken place before the event, at least one of the lethal devices might have been discovered and the race aborted.
Tuesday, the FBI admitted “a potential terrorist inquiry” was underway, although President Barack Obama, when he pledged justice for “the perpetrators,” carefully skirted the term “terror.” This recalls his administration’s refusal to brand as an act of terror the attack on the US consulate in Benghazi on Sept. 11, 2012, and the murder of Ambassador Chris Stevens, although it was clearly the work of an al Qaeda element.
Counterterrorism experts are equally certain of the Middle East terrorist hallmarks on the Boston Marathon bombings, although it is too soon to say whether it was the work of Al Qaeda or an allied radical jihadi group such as the Ansar al-Shariah, which was responsible for the Benghazi consulate in conjunction with a clandestine al Qaeda command center in Cairo.
Here, too, initial investigation discloses the hand of al Qaeda or an affiliate.
Ahead of the London marathon scheduled for next week and the state funeral of the late UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher Wednesday, April 17, a determined official effort is being made in Washington and London to present the Boston bombings as the work of a lone wolf.
However, experts experienced in these matters maintain that an attack on this scale and of this type would have required four or five bombers on the ground and a support team of about 10 spotters and accomplices familiar with the terrain, further back. They would have needed more than one vehicle and communications gear, in addition to mobile phones which are easily tracked.
The two explosions, 400 meters apart, were obviously coordinated and designed to cause maximum casualties. The ball-bearings scattered across the crime scene and found in the pockets of some of the casualties were familiar to Israelis and others and telling evidence of Middle East terrorist authorship.
The explosive device which caused such havoc and agony was small yet deadly – another pointer to the “professionalism” of the attackers. A similar device was discovered in time three years ago in a bomb-rigged car parked in Times Square New York and left there by the Pakistani student Faisal Shahzad.
Unlike the president, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, Chairperson of the Senate Intelligence Committee, had no compunctions about putting into words the general suspicion. Straight after the event, she said, “My understanding is that it’s a terrorist incident” – although it is too soon to say whether it was carried out by a foreign or domestic element.
Suspicion of a foreign hand was strengthened when the US media reported that a Saudi national suffering from severe burns was being questioned in hospital. The Boston Police Department denied the report and the FBI, now in charge of the case, said that no one has so far been taken into custody. They did not deny questioning “persons of interest.”
The first response to the explosions in Boston from Middle East itself came from Mohammad al-Chalabi the head of an extremist Jordanian Muslim Salafi group, who said he’s “happy to see the horror in America…American blood isn’t more precious than Muslim blood,” he said. “Let the Americans feel the pain we endured by their armies occupying Iraq and Afghanistan and killing our people there.”
A Mideast counterterrorism official based in Jordan said the blasts “carry the hallmark of an organized terrorist group, like al-Qaeda.”
National Guard forces were streaming Tuesday into Boston in long convoys of armored Humvees.
Boston residents are in for upsets from the massive security measures that will continue throughout the week, as the area of the bombings is declared a crime scene and kept under lockdown; law enforcement officials patrol the streets and carry out random bag checks; and transport services are delayed.
Or Iran. Or the PLO. Or the guy who couldn’t qualify for the marathon. Or the crazy uncle who lives in the basement (with apologies to Bob Beckel). I assume, until PROVEN otherwise, that the FBI is going to do its job.
@ Bernard Ross:
Bernard Ross Said:
Or perhaps they don’t want to go through thousands of “sightings” unless and until the normal law enforcement channels come up empty. That is standard procedure. Often the simplest explanations are best without the need for elaborate conspiracy theories.
http://www.infowars.com/boston-authorities-in-cover-up-of-bombing-drills/
http://www.infowars.com/government-caught-in-boston-bombing-false-flag-cover-up/
http://www.infowars.com/photos-private-military-operatives-hired-to-work-the-boston-marathon-with-black-backpacks-radiation-detectors-tactical-gear/
http://unitycoalitionforisrael.org/news/?p=9269
Obama Covering Up Saudi Link to Boston Bombing?
Is this the Uh Oh moment?
http://www.wnd.com/2013/04/north-korea-linked-to-marathon-bombing/
New suspect in Boston bombing: North Korea
The following are known to have worked together directly or indirectly
Hezbullah/Syria/Iran/ No. Korea/ china/ Russia—Al Qaeda
Al Qaeda/salafi/Saudi/Pakistan/China/US/
big can of worms
Go ahead, speculate to your heart’s content. If you are waiting for incontrovertible proof, that day might never come. The mainstream media is more biased and political than the bloggers these days and much more manipulative, especially towards the left-wing. Why should the “truthers,” leftists, Islamists and Jew bashers have all the fun in propagandizing against us without any push back?
Why should we not speculate upon facts that are established from ample evidence (and dead bodies) that Islamists carry out the bulk of the terrorism in the world today in the name of jihad and Islam? We have the truth behind us, they have nothing but lies and a religion that lies to establish dominance.
When the guys in the photos and their helpers drop off a package to some people’s doorsteps, that would probably not be enough legal confirmation for some who need to have it explode in their faces before the truth hits them.
These same people have also waited years (if ever) to speak out against jihad on our campuses and in our communities. This is the same legalese, bureaucratic mindset which led European Jews to think that there was not enough evidence and always enough time to flee Europe – then and now.
yamit82 Said:
from the same nypost link
Interesting how propaganda becomes embedded as fact. BS, like regular sewage, floats to the top.
yamit82 Said:
Muslim Terrorists!!!!!
Showed them on the view – the airhead republican said they had better turn themselves in if they are innocent ‘before someone finds them’. And if they are guilty they had better run!!!
MUST-SEE: These Are The Photos Of The Boston Bombing Suspects The FBI Won’t Release
FBI Release Photos of Persons of Interest in Boston Marathon Bombing
they have photos but dont show them to the public who they want to help? Perhaps they want to have the flexibility to be able to manipulate the facts later.
Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2013/04/dark-skinned-bombing-suspect-in-custody/#TC7ar5CzGH8iAHVb.99
David Sternlight Said:
What’s all this nit-picking? A couple of hours with a waterboard will get the truth – don’t worry about it.
David Sternlight Said:
The entire US MSM is untrustworthy along with anything the US government says. Who gives a turd what they say, my imagination is more trustworthy than those jew haters.
Sloppy journalism, New York Post edition:
“The alleged bomber was on a phone when he dropped the second backpack and his cell records reportedly led to the identification, sources told CBS News.
Authorities revealed yesterday the bomber used a pair of six-liter pressure cookers packed with metal nails and ball bearings to rip his helpless victims apart at the finish line.”
At the moment these are two different people–“the alleged bomber” is the guy in the photo. “the bomber” is the actual bomber, whoever he is, based on evidence at the scene. We do not yet know if they are the same person, but the juxtaposition in the Post makes it seem the guy in the photo is the bomber, thus creating a presumption of guilt.
The Debka piece is untrustworthy. It claims, for example, that the US is trying to make it look like a lone bomber when the FBI has already sent out alerts looking for two people. There are other assertions since refuted by the facts.
Some here claim the former “person of interest” is being deported; Debka claims it is his roommate. The story reads like invention building on rumors advanced by others. Best to ignore it and wait to see how things unfold.
Felix Quigley Said:
Because so many of their claims never pan out or can never be confirmed – how convenient!
It’s as reliable as a Marxist rag. 🙂
Birdalone
Why the pot shots at debka?
Regarding the Saudi’s possible involvement in this massacre, as I said above, case closed. He’s being deported.
Interesting information about his family background: http://www.wnd.com/2013/04/u-s-deporting-saudi-person-of-interest/?cat_orig=us
@ Dan:
For you it is math, for me it is arithmetic.
@ Canadian Otter:
What if he turns out to be an Egyptian, Pakistani and Jordanian all rolled into one?
The latest: Suspect spotted on video dropping bag and talking on cellphone. Identified by the cellphone call time and location. If he’s a Saudi it will all be nothing but coincidence, case closed.
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/investigators_id_suspect_in_boston_jvUQNaIaRxuho2XNQ45gvJ
@ Dean:
Dean, I’m surprised you could do the math necessary to post a comment.
Shy Guy Said:
Canadian News TV still insists someone in custody.
And whatever happened to the fire at JFK library -got an official denial but no real eyewitness reports there.
And what happened to the reports of two unexploded bombs?
—
The Grassy Knoll revisited….
And now the BG breaking news headline is gone.
Source to AP still insists someone’s in custody even though FBI denies it.
They (MSM) are reporting an arrest is imminent after a false report arrest had been made – they are flip-flopping – I smell a coverup.
DEKA can not be taken seriously – NYT – I read interview — editor in chief when challenged about anti-Israeli article finally did outburst – yeah so what I’m gonna get those #$#% nazis .. or something like that.
I don’t read anything with NYT on it.
@ birdalone:
The link you cited is from the NewYorker.com, is it not?
Things are crazy:
Breaking News Boston federal court and hospital evacuated, Boston Globe reports
Apparently false alarm courtesy of CNN.
@ birdalone:
Yes, I forgot that the NewYorker is vastly different from the NYT – like the difference between 1% yogurt and 2% yogurt.
@ Dean:
Dean: no one cited The New York Times here.
The New Yorker is a weekly magazine.
The New York Times is a daily newspaper, which I no longer read, but the URL is http://www.nytimes.com
and DEBKA was wrong on this.
yamit82: Fox now reporting NO arrest made.
back to my NCIS marathon: “Heartland” on – when Gibbs met Shannon…
@ Dan:
I see, so one is a fool to cite DEBKA but a real “progressive” to cite the NYT. Is that Martini being held properly with pinky extended? Is one also a fool to ask logical questions such as: “Why did you release that Saudi?” or would that be too politically uncool in a crass right-wing way?
I have no confidence in the New York Times nor respect for their worldview.
Citing DEBKA: One sure way to look the fool.
birdalone Said:
Other sources deny they have anyone in custody or under arrest. Maybe Macy’s doesn’t tell Gimbels???
@ Shy Guy:
still have to wait for the 5pm EDT news conference to learn more about who is actually in custody.
@ Dean:
Dean: you did not read tDavidson’s New Yorker post, because here is the point: “…By Tuesday afternoon, the fever had broken. Report after report said that he was a witness, not a suspect. “He was just at the wrong place at the wrong time,” a “U.S. official” told CNN. (So were a lot of people at the marathon.) Even Fox News reported that he’d been “ruled out.” …”
The New Yorker still mostly tries to remember they are about journalism, not partisanship. I have been reading The New Yorker for forty years, and mostly now object to Hertzberg’s use of Talk of the Town to editorialize on Israel. Otherwise, it is still the most responsible journalism in America.
and DEBKA WAS WRONG.
Suspect in custody!
Check your news channels.
@ birdalone:
Sorry, birdalone, that is NewYorker.com article that says nothing about the man and his background – no mention of any connections to al qaeda as were reported in other places. And why would the New Yorker.com publish anything other than politically correct articles about “racial profiling”? They have always been more concerned for the freedoms and rights of terror suspects than they are for the safety of Americans and the raging terror being waged against us throughout the world by Muslims (on other Muslims and on “infidels”).
I am not saying that the man is necessarily guilty, I am just saying that questions need to be raised that politically correct journalists refuse to ask.
@ Dean:
good post on how the Saudi student who was injured was found to NOT be involved:
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/comment/2013/04/the-saudi-marathon-man.html?mbid=gnep&google_editors_picks=true
and, I did note that both CNN and FOX News were BOTH saying this yesterday – I was channel flipping between them, and they were both exonerating the Saudi student at the same time.
Current news is there is a surveillance video from the Lord&Taylor department store acros the street that have identified a “young man” dropping a bag at the site of the second bombing.
CNN has just reported that a suspect has been identified in Boston bombing as “a dark-skinned male” who was filmed dropping off a bomb package. More at 5pm (about 4 hours from now). Were there more than one? How was the Saudi connected?
@ Laura:
@ Max:
Yes, as Max says, Obama has proven that he will go to any length to safeguard Muslim sensitivities in his role as Chief Islamic Apologist (CIA).
American government has been penetrated and is being changed by Islamists but I do not blame Islamists as much as those who are allowing this infiltration to happen under both Republicans and Democrats.
Had American government been breached to such an extent that Obama (a smart and logical choice of the Muslim Brotherhood’s slow but steady approach to stealth jihad) was actually financed and directed by foreign infiltrators during his first and second campaigns?
I believe Obama will go to any length to cover it up if it was Muslims that did it,
Very suspicious no intel at all on it.
It stinks already.
@ Dean:
I agree completely. What are the odds that a Saudi national who’s facebook page was riddled with anti-American postings, just happened by chance to be at the scene of a bombing but wasn’t the actual perpetrator?
@ birdalone:
I would not take CNN as the last word in truthful journalism. I would rely on DEBKA before CNN. CNN are often wrong and the speculation changes by the hour.
I am wondering why a wealthy Saudi with strong ties to al qaeda near Yemen was there in the midst of a crowd at the Boston Marathon. It is not as if Saudis are big on marathons because running in dishdashas and burkas is real difficult.
Maybe the Saudi suspect was let go from orders of the State Department just as the Saudis were spirited out of the country after 9/11 without explanation. I think some more questions need to be raised as to why he was there and why he was released without comment…and where is he now?
@ Canadian Otter:
Politicians are the same throughout the world, SELF-SERVING.
The people need to speak loud and clear especially at the ballot box.
The leadership should begin by allowing the Jews to pray at their Temple.
This will bring them together with one voice, this is our land.
Remove the rock throwing knucklehead from the Temple area.
@ rongrand:
Pressure will have to come from the people. A lot of pressure. Nothing else will do.
Leaders’ first concern is to stay in power. The good of the country ranks very low on their list of priorities. Bibi just made another call for Two States, followed by nothing but silence from the population. Even if they think those are just words, words do matter.
@ Canadian Otter:
First Sinai then Gaza.
What was the Israeli leadership thinking.
Did they achieve peace by giving up land G-d provided for them. Hell no.
Now rockets rain into Israel from both.
Less attention to world opinion, more attention to protecting the Holy Land.
GAZA Arabs celebrated the Boston bombing by handing out candy. http://www.jewishpress.com/news/breaking-news/gaza-arabs-celebrate-boston-marathon-attack-with-dance-candies/2013/04/17/ – But nothing will deter those Americans, particularly those pro-Gaza churches, who love Gazans because they hate Jews.
Picture of the child victim of the bombing that so elates Muslims with a poster he made saying “No more hurting people. Peace”
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/04/16/boston-marathon-bombings-martin-richard-peace-poster_n_3092736.html
ummm, both Fox and CNN this morning are making sure they repeatedly repeat the FBI claim the Saudi national who was injured WAS NOT involved.
I guess this is how DEBKA gets mixed reviews.
zechariah=>8:23 Said:
It’s sometimes important to read newspapers.
Obama will only call it an act of terrorism if it involves someone shoving a bomb up his ass.