Boston Marathon Bombing Suspect Implicated In Triple Murder

Official: Dead Boston Bombings Suspect Involved In 2011 Slayings -- CNN

(CNN) -- Deceased Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev participated in a 2011 gruesome triple homicide outside Boston along with a Chechen killed early Wednesday during a confrontation with the FBI and Massachusetts State Police in Orlando, Florida, a federal law enforcement official told CNN.

Ibragim Todashev, who died during the interview with authorities, not only confessed to his direct role in slashing the throats of three people in Waltham, Massachusetts, but also fingered Tsarnaev in the deaths, the official said Wednesday.

Todashev was being questioned about the slayings and his acquaintance with Tsarnaev.

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More News On Boston Marathon Bombing Suspect Implicated In Triple Murder

Ibragim Todashev implicated Tsarnaev, himself in triple homicide before FBI shooting -- CBS
Florida Man Shot by FBI Was About to Sign Boston Murder Confession: Officials -- ABC News
Man with ties to Boston bombing suspect admits role in 2011 murders; shot during FBI questioning -- NBC
Deadly End to F.B.I. Queries on Tsarnaev and a Triple Killing -- New York Times
Man tied to Boston bombing suspect killed in confrontation with FBI, other law enforcement -- Washington Post
Police kill man linked to Boston suspects, triple murder -- USA Today
FBI kills Chechen man during Boston bombing probe: What's known of him? -- Christian Science Monitor

My Comment: The Boston Marathon bombing case gets weirder and disturbing with each passing week.

Man Linked To Boston Marathon Bombers Killed By FBI Agent

Man Killed By FBI Agent Knew Tsarnaevs, Official Says -- CNN

(CNN) -- [Breaking news update at 12:39 p.m. Wednesday] Ibragim Todashev, the man shot dead last night by an FBI agent in Orlando, Florida, had been acquainted with deceased Boston Marathon attacker Tamerlan Tsarnaev at a mixed martial arts center near Boston, according to a source briefed on the ongoing marathon bombing investigation. Todashev had Tsarnaev's phone number in his cell phone, the source said.

(CNN) -- A man fatally shot early Wednesday by an FBI agent in Orlando was being investigated for a possible connection to the Boston Marathon bombings, a U.S. law enforcement official with direct knowledge of the Boston case told CNN.

The man who was shot, Ibragim Todashev, 27, knew both of the Tsarnaev brothers, Tamerlan and Dzhokhar, the official said.

The agent shot in self-defense in the incident, which occurred at Todashev's house, the law enforcement source said.

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Update #1: Florida man killed by FBI agent reportedly had link to marathon bomber, triple murder -- FOX News
Update #2: Man linked to Boston suspect killed by FBI -- USA Today
Update #3: FBI: Kissimmee man shot after attacking agent during questioning in Boston Marathon bombings -- Orlando Sentinel

My comment: This is a very strange case .... and getting stranger.

U.S. Witness Protection Lost Track Of 'Known Or Suspected Terrorists'

U.S. Lost Track Of Two With Known Or Suspected Terror Ties -- CNN

Washington (CNN) -- The U.S. Marshals Service lost track of two former participants in the federal Witness Security Program "identified as known or suspected terrorists," according to the public summary of an interim Justice Department Inspector General's report obtained by CNN.

The Marshals Service has concluded that "one individual was and the other individual was believed to be residing outside of the United States," according to the summary.

A Justice Department official said in response to follow up questions about the matter by reporters on Thursday that the pair had left the program years ago and had been accounted for.

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More On The Witness Protection Program Losing Two Former "Known Or Suspected Terrorists"

Terrorists given new identities allowed to board commercial flights, watchdog finds -- Washington Post
Watchdog: Witness protection lost track of 'known or suspected terrorists,' let others board planes -- FOX News
Justice Dept. Lost Track of 2 Former Terrorists, Report Says -- New York Times
Justice Department Lost Track of Terrorists in Witness Protection -- US News and World Report
US govt 'lost' terror suspects in witness program -- AFP
Handling of terrorists in witness protection questioned -- USA Today
US Marshals Service loses two terrorists -- The Hill
US loses track of terrorists in witness protection: Poor data sharing blamed -- Christian Science Monitor

Boston Bombing Suspect Left A Note In The Boat That He Hid In

Boston Bombings Suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev Left Note In Boat He Hid In, Sources Say -- CBS

(CBS News) Boston bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev left a note claiming responsibility for the April 13 attack on the Boston Marathon, reports CBS News senior correspondent John Miller.

Sources tell Miller that Tsarnaev wrote the note in the boat he was hiding in as police pursued him, and as he bled from gunshot wounds sustained in an earlier shootout between police and his older brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev. It reads as part manifesto, part suicide note, and part justification for the killing and maiming of innocent civilians.

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More News On Boston Bombings Suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev Leaving A Note In The Boat That He Hid In

Suspect: Boston bombing was payback for hits on Muslims -- CNN
Boston bomber wrote note blaming wars in Iraq and Afghanistan -- The Telegraph
'F***' America,' Boston Marathon Bomb Suspect Wrote in Boat: Officials -- ABC News
Sources: Bomb suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev took responsibility for Marathon attacks in note scrawled in boat -- Boston.com
Boston bomb suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev penned confession in boat: report -- New York Daily News
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev scribbled note inside boat where he was hiding, sources say -- NBC
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev left note in boat explaining motives, CBS report says -- The Guardian

My Comment: So much for those who said that the younger brother was influenced by his older brother. If the details of this note are accurate .... it is clear that he is a hardcore Jihadist with no remorse for what he did.

Civil War In Syria -- News Updates May 16, 2013

Turkey PM And Obama Discuss Syria -- Al Jazeera

During talks in Washington, leaders vow to increase pressure on Syria's President Bashar al-Assad to step down.

US President Barack Obama and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan have vowed to increase pressure on Syria's President Bashar al-Assad to step down.

Obama said in a news conference with Erdogan at the White House on Thursday that the only way to resolve Syria's two-year crisis was for Assad to hand over power to a transitional government.

He said Turkey would play a critical role in that process.

"We're going to keep increasing the pressure on the Assad regime and working with the Syrian opposition,'' Obama said.

"We both agree that Assad needs to go.''

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More News On Syria's Civil War

Syria Live Blog -- Al Jazeera
Syrian rebels launch offensive in south to reverse losses -- Reuters
Syrian troops repel rebel attack on Aleppo prison -- AP
Syria rebels, regime troops fight in Aleppo prison -- AP
Syrians 'executed in cold blood' by al-Qaeda group -- The Telegraph
Syrian rebels post grisly execution video -- Times of Israel
EU to block arming of Syrian rebels -- The Telegraph
Syrian rebels demand weapons before talks -- Washington Post
All sides in Syria have weapons 'except the good guys', says British official -- The Guardian
Vice and virtue police rule Syria rebel-held region -- USA Today
Jabhat al-Nusra faces al-Qaeda sanctions at UN under Anglo-French proposal -- The Telegraph

Israel Warns Syria of Action to Block Further Arms Transfers -- Bloomberg Businessweek
Israel warns Syria to stop sending arms to Hezbollah -- Global Post/AFP
Israel warns Assad not to retaliate to airstrikes -- UPI

Iran should take part in Syria conference: Russia -- AFP
Russia says Iran must take part in proposed Syria talks -- Reuters
Report: Iran told Nasrallah to prevent Assad downfall 'at all costs' -- YNet News

Syria crisis: number of refugees tops 1.5 million, says UN -- The Guardian
Syria erects earth mounds along border with Lebanon -- Daily Star

Obama says U.S. diplomatic, military options remain open in Syria crisis -- Reuters
Obama says U.S. won't act alone on chemical weapons in Syria -- L.A. Times
Obama: More information needed on Syrian use of gas weapons -- UPI
Obama, Erdogan Press Syria's Assad to Leave -- Wall Street Journal
Turkish prime minister is meeting with US president at the White House to discuss the two-year-conflict in Syria. -- Al Jazeera
UN resolution calls for Syria political transition -- BBC

Russia’s unhelpful role in Syria -- Rudy Rubin, Miami herald/Philly News
As global powers squirm in indecision over Syria, Assad’s hand improves -- Zvi Bar'el, Haaretz
Heart-eating video raises pressure to end Syrian war -- Simon Tisdall, Special to CNN
Gruesome Syria video pinpoints West's dilemma -- Jonathan Marcus, BBC
Syria’s civil war: The hard men on both sides prevail -- The Economist