Canada: 'Al Qaeda Train Terror Plot' Foiled

Canadian police say they have foiled an al Qaeda-backed "major terrorist plot" to attack a passenger train on a railway line between New York and Toronto.

Two people have been arrested and charged with conspiring to carry out the attack and murder people in association with a terrorist group, police revealed at a news conference in Toronto.

The suspects - Chiheb Esseghaier, 30, and Raed Jaser, 35 - had been under surveillance since August 2012 after authorities were tipped off about one of the men.

They will attend a bail hearing in Toronto today.

The pair were allegedly planning to target and derail a Via Rail passenger train in the Toronto area, and are alleged to have received "direction and guidance" from al Qaeda "elements" in Iran.

Police said there was "no indication that these attacks were state-sponsored" and declined to say where the suspects were from.

They confirmed they were not Canadian citizens but had been in the country "a significant amount of time".

The suspects' plans were "not based on their ethnic origins but on an ideology," police said.

"This is the first known al Qaeda planned attack that we've experienced in Canada," Superintendent Doug Best said.

Public Safety Minister Vic Toews warned later that the "arrests demonstrate that terrorism continues to be a real threat to Canada".

Canadian police hold a news conference to reveal details of the arrests

Canadian authorities, the FBI and US Homeland Security police and agents have been involved in a year-long cross-border operation that led to the arrests in Toronto and Montreal.

Assistant Commissioner James Maliza, of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, said: "Had this plot been carried out it would have resulted in innocent people being killed, or seriously injured."

His colleague Chief Superintendent Jennifer Strachan added: "We are alleging that these two individuals took steps and conducted activities to initiate a terrorist attack.

"They watched trains and railways in the Greater Toronto area. It was definitely in the planning stage but not imminent."

Sky's US correspondent Amanda Walker said: "They are really hailing this as a successful operation, something that they have managed to prevent.

"It does seem they have treated this as a very serious and major threat which was certainly well on in the planning.

"But not far enough for the public or railway staff to be in any immediate danger.

"So obviously they had a difficult act here to actually balance the timing of when they made these arrests - getting enough intelligence, enough information, but not taking that up to the point when the public would have been in real danger."

The news comes one week after twin bombings at the Boston Marathon killed three people and wounded 180 - and as Canada's parliament debates a proposal to beef up anti-terror measures.

A US Justice Department official in Washington said there was no connection between the thwarted terrorist plot and last Monday's attacks in Boston.

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Boston Bomb Suspects 'Had Religious Motive'

The two brothers suspected of bombing the Boston Marathon appear to have been motivated by a radical brand of Islam, but they do not seem connected to any Muslim terrorist groups, US officials have said.

Authorities have interrogated and charged the surviving brother Dzhokhar Tsarnaev with crimes that could bring the death penalty.

The 19-year-old remains in a serious condition with a gunshot wound to his throat and other injuries suffered during his attempted getaway.

His older brother, Tamerlan, 26, died on Friday after a fierce gun battle with police.

Tsarnaev was charged in his hospital bed with using and conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction.

He was accused of joining with his brother in setting off the shrapnel-packed pressure-cooker bombs that killed three people a week ago.

Tamerlan is seen here with little brother Dzhokhar and their sisters

The brothers, ethnic Chechens from Russia who had been living in the US for about a decade, practised Islam.

Two US officials said preliminary evidence from the younger man's interrogation suggests the brothers were motivated by religious extremism but were apparently not involved with Islamic terrorist organisations.

Dzhokhar is said to have communicated with his interrogators in writing due to his injuries.

They said they were still trying to verify what they were told by Tsarnaev and were looking at such things as his phone and online communications and his associations with others.

In the criminal complaint outlining the allegations, investigators said Tsarnaev and his brother each placed a backpack containing a bomb in the crowd near the finish line of the marathon.

The FBI said surveillance-camera footage showed Dzhokhar manipulating his mobile phone and lifting it to his ear just moments before the two blasts.

A silent tribute was held in Boston on Monday

After the first explosion, a block away from Dzhokhar "virtually every head turns to the east ... and stares in that direction in apparent bewilderment and alarm", the complaint says.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev "virtually alone of the individuals in front of the restaurant, appears calm".

He then quickly walked away, leaving a backpack on the ground; about 10 seconds later, a bomb blew up at the spot where he had been standing, the FBI said.

The FBI did not say whether he was using his mobile phone to detonate one or both of the bombs or whether he was talking to someone.

Meanwhile, Kazakhstan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement saying two foreign nationals arrested on Saturday in the Boston area on immigration violations are from Kazakhstan and may have known the two marathon bombing suspects.

The foreign ministry said US authorities came across them while searching for "possible links and contacts" to Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. Their names have not been released.

The aftermath of the Boston Marathon blasts

On Monday, Boston residents observed a moment of silence exactly a week after the first of two bombs went off near the marathon finish line.

A private funeral was also held for Krystle Campbell, a 29-year-old restaurant worker who was among the dead.

Later in the day, a memorial service was held at Boston University for another victim, Lu Lingzi, 23, a graduate student from China.

The youngest person to die was eight-year-old Martin Richard, while police officer Sean Collier was killed during a confrontation with the suspects in the early hours of Friday.

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Boston Bombs Suspect 'Awake And Responding'

The surviving Boston marathon bomb suspect is beginning to respond to questions from investigators, reports say.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev remains in a critical but stable condition at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Centre, where some of the 180 people wounded in the blasts are also being treated.

The 19-year-old is said to have a wound to his throat - reportedly caused by a gunshot through his mouth that exited the back of his neck - which prevents him from speaking.

Tamerlan died in a gunfight

But major US news networks say he is responding to questions in writing.

He is under armed guard in hospital and federal prosecutors are preparing to file criminal charges against him.

Dzhokhar is also reported to have been shot in the leg during a shootout with law enforcement the night before his arrest.

His older brother and fellow suspect Tamerlan, 26, died in that gunfight.

A lawyer for Tamerlan's wife, Katherine Russell Tsarnaev, said US authorities have also asked to speak with his client.

Amato DeLuca said Mrs Russell Tsarnaev did not suspect her husband of anything, and nothing seemed amiss after the bombings.

He said she had been working 70 to 80 hours a week as a home health care aide while her husband cared for their daughter.

Mr DeLuca said on the day he died, Tamerlan was home when his wife left for work.

She found out he was a suspect when she heard about it on TV, he added.

After Tamerlan was killed early on Friday, Dzhokhar escaped, triggering an hours-long manhunt that shut down Boston.

Dzhokhar leaves the boat he was hiding in

It ended with the teenager's capture in a boat parked in a backyard late on Friday night.

It has also emerged police chiefs believe the Tsarnaev brothers were planning further attacks.

Commissioner Ed Davis said officers found a large stockpile of weapons and more than 250 rounds of ammunition at the scene of the earlier gun battle.

"They had IEDS," he said, referring to improvised explosives devices. "They had homemade hand grenades that they were throwing at the officers.

"The scene was loaded with unexploded improvised explosive devices that actually we had to point out to the arriving officers and clear the area."

There was a big manhunt for Dzhokhar who escaped after the first gun battle

He said one IED was found in a Mercedes the brothers had abandoned. "This was as dangerous as it gets in urban policing," Commissioner Davis said.

The city's residents have been asked to observe a moment of silence at 2:50pm today, exactly a week after the first of two bombs went off within seconds of each other near the marathon finish line.

Mr Davis said federal authorities were trying to track down how and where the two suspects obtained the firearms and explosive devices.

Three people were killed in the twin bombings

The two were ethnic Chechens who had been living in the United States for a decade.

Dzhokhar became a US citizen in 2012, while his older brother's application was reportedly held up.

Tamerlan began posting militant videos on social media sites in recent years, and travelled to Dagestan, which borders Chechnya, in 2012. Both Russian regions host separatist rebel groups.

The brothers' social media pages appeared to express sympathy with the struggle in Chechnya, which has been ravaged by two wars since 1994 between Russia and increasingly Islamist-leaning separatist rebels.

Three people died and more than 180 others were injured in the twin blasts at the marathon, the worst bombing to take place in the US since 9/11.

The Boston Red Sox, Major League Baseball and several affiliated organisations have contributed more than £400,000 to One Fund Boston, established to help people most affected by the blasts last Monday.

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Five Killed In Washington State Shooting

Five people have been killed in a shooting at an apartment complex south of Seattle, including a suspect who was shot by officers.

Police say officers responded to a 9:30pm emergency call at an apartment complex in Federal Way of shots being fired.

In addition to the possible suspect, the victims also include three other men and one woman.

There was no immediate word what set off the gunfire.

More follows...

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Boston Bombing: Suspect Still Unable To Speak

Boston Marathon Blasts: Timeline

Updated: 11:14am UK, Saturday 20 April 2013

Here is a timeline of events from the Boston Marathon bombings to the death of one of the suspects and another one being taken into custody.

Monday, April 15 (Times are local)

2.50pm: An explosion takes place near the finish line of the Boston Marathon.

Around 10 seconds later, there is another blast about 100m further back down the same road, Boylston Street, also on the marathon route.

The explosions occurred four hours into the race and two hours after the men's winner had crossed the line, but thousands of runners were still on the course.

2.57pm: The Boston Globe's Twitter feed reports a witness hearing "two loud booms" near the finish line.

4.02pm: Two people have died and 23 injured in the explosions, Boston Police confirms via Twitter.

6.12pm: President Barack Obama addresses the nation, saying: "The American people will say a prayer for Boston tonight."

8.49pm: At a news conference, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick announces the FBI has taken over the investigation.

It is confirmed three people died as a result of the bombings and at least 100 others were hurt. The injury toll was later put at over 180.

Tuesday, April 16

Two victims of the blasts were identified as Martin Richard, eight, and 29-year-old Krystle Campbell.

Martin was waiting with his family to give his father a hug at the finish line when he died.

Restaurant manager Ms Campbell had gone with her best friend to take a picture of the friend's boyfriend crossing the finish when the bombs went off.

Wednesday, April 17

The third victim is identified as 23-year-old Chinese graduate student Lingzi Lu.

Boston University confirmed Ms Lu was studying mathematics and statistics there and was due to receive her degree in 2015.

It said she and two friends had been watching the marathon near the finish line. One of the friends, also a Boston University student, was injured while the other was unharmed, it added.

There are reports a suspect has been detained in connection with the explosions and is due to appear in court - but authorities said there had been no arrests.

The federal court in the city is evacuated due to a bomb scare but people are later allowed to return.

Thursday, April 18

Afternoon: Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama attend an interfaith service at a Roman Catholic cathedral in Boston to remember the bombing victims. The president vows the attackers will face justice.

Evening: The FBI releases photos and video footage of two bombings suspects at the scene before the attacks.

One is pictured wearing a black baseball cap and a second had a white baseball cap on back to front.

Police say the suspects tried to rob a supermarket in Cambridge, across the river from Boston, on Thursday evening.  

10.20pm: Officers receive reports of shots fired on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) campus in Cambridge.

10.30pm: A police officer at MIT is found with gunshot wounds in his vehicle after being shot several times. He died in hospital.

The bomb suspects are suspected of carrying out the shooting.

They are then thought to have stolen a Mercedes car at gunpoint and later release its driver unharmed.

Friday, April 19

1am: Witnesses in Watertown near Boston report hearing multiple gunshots and explosions. The suspects reportedly threw explosives from the vehicle as police followed it into the area.

The suspects and police exchange gunfire, during which an officer is hurt.

Police say one of the two suspects in the MIT officer shooting, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, is dead. But his younger brother, Dzhokhar, remains at large. The pair are suspected of carrying out the bombings.

An extensive manhunt takes place in the Watertown area for Dzhokhar, who is said to be armed and dangerous.

Almost a million residents in Boston are warned to stay indoors and public transport is stopped as armed police search for Dzhokhar.

The two suspects are said to be from a Russian region near Chechnya and have lived in the US for at least one year.

6.60pm: Massachusetts Governor Patrick Deval announces the "stay indoors" order is being lifted, even though Dzhokhar remains in hiding.

Around the time the order is lifted, a flurry of gunfire breaks out in the community that is being searched. Law enforcement officials locate Dzhokhar in a boat parked behind a home.

8.45pm: Dzhokhar is taken into custody by police.

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London Marathon: Show Of Solidarity For Boston

By Jason Farrell, Sky News Correspondent

A 30-second silence will be held before the start of today's London Marathon as a mark of respect to victims of the Boston bombings.

Organisers said most of the 36,000 runners are also expected to wear black ribbons to show solidarity with the people of Boston.

Virgin London Marathon has pledged to donate £2 for every finisher to The One Fund Boston, which was set up to raise money for the victims of the explosions.

Richard Inchley, who has been registering runners for the marathon, says events in Massachusetts have not deterred competitors from taking part in the 26.2-mile challenge.

"People are more determined than ever to take part, and I can't think of a single person who wasn't eager to wear the ribbon," he said.

Every participant is being given a black ribbon to wear during the race

"One German runner was in tears as he showed me video footage of him crossing the line in Boston as the bomb went off behind him. But I think running in London will be a kind of therapy for him."

British runner Jack Cummings, who ran in the Boston Marathon, said he would also run again today.

"My wife and daughter were across the street from the second blast. It was very unnerving as people at the finish line didn't know what was happening," he explained.

"I was very apprehensive about running today. I felt so empty after what happened in Boston, but I didn't want to disappoint the charity and today I'm running for all those in Boston that got hurt or died."

Despite the death and capture of the Boston Marathon bombing suspects, security has been stepped up to reassure the runners and spectators.

The police prescence during the London race is being stepped up by 40%

The Met is in close contact with the FBI and Boston Police, and there is nothing to suggest any link with the bomb attacks.

Malcolm Baker, a former Police Counter-Terrorism Officer, told Sky News: "The main objective of the police is to provide reassurance and public safety for both the runners and spectators, and secondly it will be to deter any copycat attacks."

Despite the 40% increase in police presence, the marathon will maintain its carnival atmosphere.

Hundreds of runners will turn out in fancy dress for the winding route from Black Heath to Buckingham Palace past some of the capital's most famous landmarks.

Half a million people usually turn up to watch the spectacle.

One volunteer race official, Lesley Inchley, said: "I think there will be even more people than usual coming to watch. Spectators will want to lend their support to the runners and send a really clear message that we won't be frightened by bombers."

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Boston Residents Rejoice Over 'End Of Terror'

Boston Bomb Suspect In Custody

Updated: 8:00am UK, Saturday 20 April 2013

The second Boston bombing suspect has been captured after he was found hiding in a boat parked in a suburban backyard.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who was already wounded from an earlier shootout, exchanged gunfire with police for an hour while holed up in the boat in the neighbourhood of Watertown.

The dramatic stand-off ended with the 19-year-old being given first aid on the lawn next to the boat before he was taken away in an ambulance. 

Dzhokhar remains in "serious condition" at Beth Israel Deaconess hospital, said Boston police commissioner Ed Davis.

Swat teams surrounded the boat after a tip-off from a resident who noticed blood on it, Mr Davis said.

The man lifted the cover of the boat, saw the teenager covered in blood and alerted police.

A police helicopter then used infra-red equipment to confirm there was a human inside the boat.

Dzhokhar had been on the run since his 26-year-old brother and fellow suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev  - known as suspect number one - was killed in a shoot-out with police in the early hours of Friday.

The brothers were believed to be behind Monday's twin explosions at the Boston Marathon which left three people dead and around 180 wounded.

During their getaway attempt, they killed Massachusetts Institute of Technology policeman Sean Collier and severely wounded another officer, authorities said.

A crowd of residents cheered as Dzhokhar Tsarnaev - known as suspect number two - was taken into custody, and the celebrations continued into the night in the city's streets.

Mayor Tom Menino said on Twitter: "We got him".

Boston Police tweeted: "CAPTURED!!! The hunt is over. The search is done. The terror is over. And justice has won. Suspect in custody."

The family of eight-year-old Martin Richard, who died in the bombings, released a statement praising police.  

"Tonight, our family applauds the entire law enforcement community for a job well done, and trust that our justice system will now do its job," the family said.

Martin's mother also sustained brain injuries and his sister lost a leg in the blast.

US President Barack Obama told a news conference the suspect's capture "closed an important chapter in this tragedy".

But he said there were still many unanswered questions about the marathon bombings, including whether the two men had help from others.

As Dzhokhar was being captured, three people in New Bedford, Massachusetts, were also taken into custody for questioning over the blasts.

Lieutenant Robert Richard said two men and a woman were being questioned by the FBI "on the assumption there is an affiliation with suspect number two".

Dzhokhar's capture came at the end of a tumultuous all-day manhunt and house-to-house search by thousands of elite police officers.

As night fell, police announced that they were scaling back the hunt and they had so far come up empty-handed.

But shortly after that statement, a break came in Watertown when the homeowner - who had been indoors all day due to the manhunt - saw the blood on his boat.

The vessel had not been searched before because it was outside of the police perimeter set up during the search.

It has also been revealed that Tamerlan attracted the attention of US authorities two years ago.

The FBI said its agents interviewed him in 2011 at the request of a foreign government, but that the investigation found "no derogatory information", according to an official.

The FBI declined to identify the country involved or the nature of the probe.

The brothers moved to the US a decade ago from a Russian region near Chechnya and had been living in Cambridge, Massachusetts, as legal permanent residents.

Their father, Anzor Tsarnaev, told reporters in Russia that he believed his sons had been framed and described the killing of Tamerlan as "cowardly".

Maret Tsarnaev, the men's aunt, said Tamerlan had recently become a devout Muslim who prayed five times a day.

Speaking to reporters at her home in Toronto, Canada, she also said the older brother was married and had a daughter in the US.

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