Boston Bombing Suspects Reportedly From Russia, Near Chechnya [Updated]

8 AM UPDATE:

Two suspects in the Boston Marathon bombing came to the United States from Chechnya, a region inside Russia. The region has been plagued for years by an Islamic insurgency that stems from separatist movements.

Their identities come from a law enforcement intelligence bulletin that was obtained by the Associated Press. The bulletin added that the remaining suspect’s name is Dkhokhar A. Tsarnaev, 19. He may have been living in Cambridge and is considered armed and dangerous.

The suspect who was killed in a shootout police has been named as Tamerlan Tsarnaev. He reportedly became a permanent legal resident of the United States in 2007.

The suspect’s apartment is near Norfolk and police have the area surrounded. A woman was seen being assisted by police leaving the apartment. Boston Commissioner Ed Davis commented during an early morning press conference, “We believe this man to be a terrorist. We believe this to be a man who’s come here to kill people.”

Shortly after the suspects’ names were released, social media lit up trying to find more information about Tsarnaev, whose first name is also being spelled Djohar. Along with finding a profile on the social media site, VK.com, a YouTube video was also discovered.

The suspects performed a carjacking in Cambridge during the early hours of the morning on Friday. They identified themselves to the car’s owner as the Boston bombing suspects. After a car chase with police ensued, the first suspect, believed to be Tsarnaev’s brother, was shot. Media reports have said that the 19-year-old Boston bombing suspect drove over his brother in order to escape the scene.

The following flier was recently released on the second bombing suspect by the Boston Regional Intelligence Center.

ORIGINAL STORY:

The Boston Marathon bombing suspects are from Russia, according to the latest media reports. The two bombers were spotted on Thursday night when they robbed a gas station and were caught on video surveillance.

The bombing suspects have reportedly been in the United States for at least one year and are brothers. They moved to the United States from the region near Chechnya.

The Associated Pressannounced on Twitter that the surviving suspect’s name is Dzhikhar A. Tsarnaev, who is just 19 years old. The teenager’s address is reportedly in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The identity of the deceased suspect has not been released through official channels or reports.

No confirmation of the Boston bombing suspects has been made by the FBI or the Boston Police Department. But, despite this, an official hinted that the suspects were “terrorists” and not from this country during an early morning press release.

Chechnya is a portion of Russia that has had brief bouts of independence. The region’s people are largely Muslim and have lived for centuries in the mountainous North Caucasus region. The group has resisted Russian rule for the past two hundred years. Several terrorist groups are believed to have ties to the region, including several Islamist militants.

This is breaking news and will be updated as more information becomes available.