The Next Steps in Boston
Video Transcript:
Video Transcript:
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, a suspect in the April 15 bombings at the Boston Marathon, has been taken into custody by federal authorities following an extensive manhunt. Despite the fact that Tsarnaev has been detained, and his accomplice and older brother has been killed, law enforcement officials still have difficult work ahead piecing together the brother's activities and associations to better explain how the attack happened and whether the suspects were assisted by others.
The initial interview team questions will focus on future plots and attacks, not how they pulled off the attack on the marathon. But as the search expands, investigators will focus on all family members, friends and associates. The suspects' mother and girlfriends will be of special interest, possibly yielding clues about how and when the suspects became radicalized.
Virtual relationships will also be examined, especially if the suspects visited websites, chat rooms or forums that encouraged militant behavior. Law enforcement agencies will also begin searching for any prior intelligence about the two men that may have been passed from foreign intelligence agencies, including the Russian FSB. U.S. law enforcement officials in Moscow will also be reaching out to their Russian counterparts to garner additional details. The FBI reportedly interviewed Tamerlan in 2011. While the reason behind that interview isn't known, this type of information will be pieced together to form a more complete picture of the attacks.
Past foreign travel will also be closely examined, specifically looking for any travel or training that could be connected to militant groups. Media reports indicate that the deceased suspect, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, visited Russia beginning in January 2012, raising the possibility that he may have come in contact with Islamist militants in Chechnya or Dagestan. Stratfor sources report that there are some days of his travel that cannot be accounted for, raising an important question for the investigators to track down. Forensic investigations of both the detonated and undetonated devices will also drive the investigation and could reveal similarities in the design of other known devices.
As Stratfor looks at the information that's currently available, it appears the attackers acted in a relatively amateur manner and deployed very simple explosive devices. The pressure cooker style devices could have been fabricated after reading Inspire Magazine and spending a little time on YouTube. While the suspects did not rob a 7/11 store as initially reported, they did conduct an express kidnapping, holding a victim for an extended period of time and allowing him to live, providing another avenue for investigation. Professional terrorist operatives simply do not operate in this manner.
Despite the low level of sophistication, this attack is a reminder that even amateur attacks can be deadly and the threat to soft targets will never end.
