PressTV
The father of the Boston Marathon bombing suspects says his sons have been “set up”.
Anzor Tsarnaev spoke with The Associated Press by telephone from the Russian Republic of Dagestan on Friday, hours after US police officials said one of his sons, 26-year-old Tamerlan, had been killed in a shootout and the other, Dzhokhar, was being intensely pursued.
He described Dzhokhar as a smart and “true angel", noting, "We expected him to come on holidays here.”
"They were set up, they were set up!" the father exclaimed, adding, "I saw it on television; they killed my older son Tamerlan."
The two brothers killed an MIT police officer and hurled explosives at police in a car chase and gun battle overnight that left Tamerlan dead. Dzhokhar, however, managed to break through the line of officers and escape.
Media reports say that the two suspects are of Chechen origin, but Chechnya’s President Ramzan Kadyrov said that the Tsarnaevs did not live in Chechnya.
“We do not know ... (the suspects). They did not live in Chechnya. They lived and studied in America. The people suspected of committing crimes in Boston have nothing to do with Chechnya,” said Kadyrov in a statement issued on Friday.
Boston was locked down as a massive manhunt for Dzhokhar continued on Friday. Authorities ordered people across the city to stay behind locked doors.
"We believe this man to be a terrorist," said Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis.
"We believe this to be a man who's come here to kill people," he added.
Many accuse the United States of following contradictory approach when it comes to terrorism. On the one hand, the US lectures the world on coming together to fight terrorism, and on the other hand, it has been at the forefront of supporting some terrorist groups in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.
“The Russian government has for years condemned Western support for the guerrillas in Chechnya, that are influenced heavily by the Saudis and the Salafists,” Wayne Madsen, investigative journalist, told Press TV on Friday.
“We’ve got people like Senator John McCain who has given aid and support to these individuals, so the US may have to take a look at its support of these Chechen operatives in Chechnya and abroad, especially those who received funding from Western non-governmental organizations,” he added.
Two bombings in Boston on Monday left three people dead and more than 170 injured.
MN/MHB