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Report: Boston Bombing Suspect Motivated by Jihadist Ideology

Report: Boston Bombing Suspect Motivated by Jihadist Ideology

In an interview with investigators, 19-year-old Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev said that he and his brother were motivated by jihadist ideology and had not worked with an international terror group. He revealed that his older brother Tamerlan masterminded the bombing because he believed Islam was under attack. The Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center said that Tamerlan, who was not a member of the Cambridge mosque, had interrupted sermons on two occasions—once when the speaker said it was OK for Muslims to celebrate some American holidays, and once when a preacher praised Martin Luther King Jr. Officials at the mosque reprimanded him for the outbursts. Both incidents happened after he returned from a several-months long trip to Russia.

Police are also now looking into the possibility that Tamerlan may have been involved in the 2011 triple murder of his former roommate and two friends. At the time, the crime was baffling to police because marijuana and cash were left behind at the scene. A relative of one of the slain roommates said their was tension between the two over lifestyle choices. Tamerlan was also arrested in 2009 on a domestic violence charge and admitted to hitting his then-girlfriend …

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