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| Obamas join Boston at memorial for marathon bombing victims | Obamas join Boston at memorial for marathon bombing victims |
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| President Obama delivered a message of "resolve" in Boston on Thursday morning, as FBI investigators work to track down two men they want to interview over the marathon bombings that killed three and left more than 170 injured. | |
| Almost 2,000 people will be in attendance at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross to hear the president extend his condolences to the victims and families of the double bombing at a multi-faith service. A long line of Bostonians stretching three blocks had formed outside the church from dawn to gain a seat, and many were turned away. | Almost 2,000 people will be in attendance at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross to hear the president extend his condolences to the victims and families of the double bombing at a multi-faith service. A long line of Bostonians stretching three blocks had formed outside the church from dawn to gain a seat, and many were turned away. |
| As Boston gathered to mourn and remember, a massive investigation involving 1,000 FBI agents was ongoing, with the hunt focusing on analysis of digital footage taken immediately before and after the blasts. Several possible suspects are being tracked from the film, with agents from the FBI's laboratory in Quantico, Virginia, specialised in enhancing digital photos leading the analysis. | As Boston gathered to mourn and remember, a massive investigation involving 1,000 FBI agents was ongoing, with the hunt focusing on analysis of digital footage taken immediately before and after the blasts. Several possible suspects are being tracked from the film, with agents from the FBI's laboratory in Quantico, Virginia, specialised in enhancing digital photos leading the analysis. |
| Homeland security secretary Janet Napolitano said the FBI wanted to interview two men seen in at least one video. Without providing details of the men's appearance or what the video shows, Napolitano told the House Homeland Security Committee on Thursday that "there is some video that raised the question" of two men the FBI would like to interview but said she wouldn't described them as suspects. | Homeland security secretary Janet Napolitano said the FBI wanted to interview two men seen in at least one video. Without providing details of the men's appearance or what the video shows, Napolitano told the House Homeland Security Committee on Thursday that "there is some video that raised the question" of two men the FBI would like to interview but said she wouldn't described them as suspects. |
| Agents are also gaining a much more detailed understanding of the makeup of the bombs themselves. They have pieced together the basic components from fragments of mangled metal found along Boylston Street, including the lid of a pressure cooker that was found on the roof of the Charlesmark Hotel 35 yards from the epicentre of the explosion. | Agents are also gaining a much more detailed understanding of the makeup of the bombs themselves. They have pieced together the basic components from fragments of mangled metal found along Boylston Street, including the lid of a pressure cooker that was found on the roof of the Charlesmark Hotel 35 yards from the epicentre of the explosion. |
| The bombs were fashioned out of six litre pressure cookers made by Fagor America Inc, a New Jersey-based subsidiary of a Spanish cookware company. The company, which makes 250,000 pressure cookers in the US every year, is co-operating with the FBI to try and identify the individual items in the hope of tracing where they were sold. | The bombs were fashioned out of six litre pressure cookers made by Fagor America Inc, a New Jersey-based subsidiary of a Spanish cookware company. The company, which makes 250,000 pressure cookers in the US every year, is co-operating with the FBI to try and identify the individual items in the hope of tracing where they were sold. |
| Photographs released by the FBI to the media in the hope of stimulating public help with the investigation show other probable components of the bombs. They include a black and red electric wire attached to a Tenergy 3000 rechargeable Ni-MH battery of the sort that is commonly used for heavy-duty applications such as remote control toys and power tools. | Photographs released by the FBI to the media in the hope of stimulating public help with the investigation show other probable components of the bombs. They include a black and red electric wire attached to a Tenergy 3000 rechargeable Ni-MH battery of the sort that is commonly used for heavy-duty applications such as remote control toys and power tools. |
| Pieces of what is believed to be a circuit board have also been found, suggesting that the device may have been built to be detonated using a remote device such as a cellphone or television remote control. Another theory circulating is that the battery was attached to a timer mechanism such as a simple egg timer that you'd find in many kitchens. | Pieces of what is believed to be a circuit board have also been found, suggesting that the device may have been built to be detonated using a remote device such as a cellphone or television remote control. Another theory circulating is that the battery was attached to a timer mechanism such as a simple egg timer that you'd find in many kitchens. |
| Police have been scouring through records of cell phone calls made in the vicinity of the finishing line of the marathon around the time of the blasts to see whether they reveal any other important clues. | Police have been scouring through records of cell phone calls made in the vicinity of the finishing line of the marathon around the time of the blasts to see whether they reveal any other important clues. |
| The precise consistency of the explosive charge used in the bombs has not been confirmed. Eyewitnesses at the scene of the carnage reported that they smelled an acrid odour similar to gunpowder. Shreds of cloth have also been found that indicate that the devices were carried in black padded nylon bags or backpacks. | The precise consistency of the explosive charge used in the bombs has not been confirmed. Eyewitnesses at the scene of the carnage reported that they smelled an acrid odour similar to gunpowder. Shreds of cloth have also been found that indicate that the devices were carried in black padded nylon bags or backpacks. |
| Heavy bags | |
| Investigators say that their understanding of the devices suggest that the black bags in which they were carried would have been heavy. "We are postulating they would need to have been heavy bags to carry the device inside of them, they would not have been light bags," said Rick DesLauriers of the Boston FBI that is leading the investigation. | Investigators say that their understanding of the devices suggest that the black bags in which they were carried would have been heavy. "We are postulating they would need to have been heavy bags to carry the device inside of them, they would not have been light bags," said Rick DesLauriers of the Boston FBI that is leading the investigation. |
| The weight of the bags, and their likely bulk from containing relatively large pressure cookers, point to the possibility of more than one person being involved in the planting of the devices. Several news outlets reported on Thursday that the FBI were particularly interested in two potential suspects spotted in digital footage carrying backpacks amid the marathon crowd. | The weight of the bags, and their likely bulk from containing relatively large pressure cookers, point to the possibility of more than one person being involved in the planting of the devices. Several news outlets reported on Thursday that the FBI were particularly interested in two potential suspects spotted in digital footage carrying backpacks amid the marathon crowd. |
| Given the unstable nature of such an improvised device, it is possible that the perpetrator would have had to put it together relatively close to the bomb site. Officers are trawling through hotel bookings and short-term accommodation rentals throughout the Boston area for any clues. | Given the unstable nature of such an improvised device, it is possible that the perpetrator would have had to put it together relatively close to the bomb site. Officers are trawling through hotel bookings and short-term accommodation rentals throughout the Boston area for any clues. |
| They are also putting out regular appeals to the public to come forward, on the assumption that it would have been difficult for the bomber or bombers to keep their preparations entirely secret. The FBI has specifically requested any information on anybody who voiced an intention to target the marathon, or showed a suspicious interest in explosive devices, while test runs of the pressure cooker bombs may have led to loud noises detected by neighbours. | They are also putting out regular appeals to the public to come forward, on the assumption that it would have been difficult for the bomber or bombers to keep their preparations entirely secret. The FBI has specifically requested any information on anybody who voiced an intention to target the marathon, or showed a suspicious interest in explosive devices, while test runs of the pressure cooker bombs may have led to loud noises detected by neighbours. |
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