Breaking: Explosion Reported at Boston Marathon's Finish Line

[Keith Millea]

Published on Monday, April 15, 2013 by Common Dreams
Breaking: Explosion Reported at Boston Marathon's Finish Line


- Common Dreams staff


Breaking news reports that a pair of explosions have rocked an area near the finish line to the Boston Marathon which was taking place Monday.
The race was about half-over, with many racers finished, but many still on the route.
CNN is reporting two separate explosions near the end of the race at Copley Square. Early video and film footage showed severely injured spectators and plumes of smoke.
Witnesses and media outlets report that perhaps dozens have been injured, but no fatalities have yet been announced or confirmed.

[Kenneth Kapel]

MSNBC, via WHDH, is reporting that 2 bombs expolded. Is the" Stragedy of Terror", contining ? A report now states that a fire started at the JFK Library almost at the same time as the marathon explosions.

[Peter Lemkin]

Two bombs; two dead thus far; most of the runners never finished and never will; most of the 23 injured were spectators; Boston is on lockdown and there was another explosion at the JFK Library - not near the Marathon; NYC now said to be under red alert [reason unknown].

I smell an inside job here......strategy of tension 'stuff'. The time between such incidents - be they bombings or shootings in the USA is certainly getting less and less and less.....the BIG one is coming soon....to make 9-11 look like a picnic. Sadly.

[Peter Lemkin]

As in JFK, the 'perp' was found a bit too quickly for belief....last night before I went to bed, the news read as follows:

Report: Official says Cellphone service has been shut down in the Boston area to prevent any potential remote detonations of explosives
Investigators have a suspect a Saudi Arabian national in the horrific Boston Marathon bombings, The Post has learned.
Law enforcement sources said the 20-year-old suspect was under guard at an undisclosed Boston hospital.
It was not immediately clear why the man was hospitalized and whether he was injured in the attack or in his apprehension.
Boston PD has surveillance video of someone bringing multiple backpacks to blast site
A federal law-enforcement source told The Post there are at least 12 dead and twice as many injured. Fox News reported that Massachusetts General Hospital was treating 10 people with amputated limbs and all operating rooms were on hold.

The above is mostly now known to be wrong....but why did I find it high on the Google list under 'Boston Marathon Bombs'?! Apparently, there never was a Saudi suspect and the known dead is much lower, while the number of injured much higher. For those that are not aware, the Boston Marathon was the first, largest and most prestigious of big-city Marathons for a long time...and many still consider it so. Very interesting target.....seems to me [just gut feeling] to make any happy large gathering in the USA or 'the West' feel uneasy that they could be a target of random terror. Now, who would want to do that? I can think of a few - but most are inside the hidden recesses of America, herself. Of course, there are a few outsiders who might wish to do such a thing...but they didn't do it in Dallas, nor during 911...and I doubt they did it this time. Gladio comes home - again.

[Keith Millea]

WARNING VERY GRAPHIC:

Plenty of pictures...not for the weak hearted.....Really fuggin' ugly....Bastard!!!!!


http://www.buzzfeed.com/ryanhatesthi...thon-explosion

[Magda Hassan]

WARNING VERY GRAPHIC:

Plenty of pictures...not for the weak hearted.....Really fuggin' ugly....Bastard!!!!!


http://www.buzzfeed.com/ryanhatesthi...thon-explosion

Ooo...that was a mistake...opening this one...there are two sections. The last one is the really graphic one. But it is all bad...

[Kenneth Kapel]

Global Research reports that the Boston Bomb Squad was conducting "controlled demolition test" today.

[Anthony Thorne]

The domestic arm of Gladio B is surely keeping itself busy.

"University of Mobile's Cross Country Coach, who was near the finish line of the Boston Marathon when a series of explosions went off, said he thought it was odd there were bomb sniffing dogs at the start and finish lines.
　
"They kept making announcements to the participants do not worry, it's just a training exercise," Coach Ali Stevenson told Local 15."

http://www.local15tv.com/mostpopular/sto...SDJEA.cspx

[Magda Hassan]

The domestic arm of Gladio B is surely keeping itself busy.

"University of Mobile's Cross Country Coach, who was near the finish line of the Boston Marathon when a series of explosions went off, said he thought it was odd there were bomb sniffing dogs at the start and finish lines.
　
"They kept making announcements to the participants do not worry, it's just a training exercise," Coach Ali Stevenson told Local 15."

http://www.local15tv.com/mostpopular/sto...SDJEA.cspx

[Peter Lemkin]

The Mayor of Boston told the city to expect random police checks/stops on public transit; in their cars; anywhere in the city...etc. Other cities and American facilities worldwide are said to be on 'high alert'. This is the official 'view' from CNN:

(CNN) -- The FBI is taking the lead in investigating the double bombing that caused death and destruction near the finish line of the Boston Marathon on Monday, authorities said.

A range of different agencies are involved in the hunt to find out who carried out the lethal attack and why, but officials are cautioning that very little is known at this point.

"This will be a combined federal, state and local effort," Richard DesLauriers, the special agent in charge of the FBI's Boston Division, said at a news briefing by law enforcement officials on Monday evening.

Describing it as a "criminal investigation" that is also "a potential terrorist investigation," DesLauriers said the FBI was declaring federal jurisdiction over the matter through the Boston Joint Terrorism Task Force.
Photos: Deadly attack at Boston Marathon
Obama: We will get to the bottom of this
Boston witness: It was a war zone
Coach: Boston Marathon changed forever

A celebration turns into a bloody scene of destruction

It wasn't clear Monday whether the origin of the bombings was domestic or foreign, according to a federal law enforcement official with knowledge of the investigation. And a state government official said there had been no credible threats ahead of the race.

"People shouldn't jump to conclusions before we have all the facts," President Barack Obama said. "But make no mistake, we will get to the bottom of this, and we will find out who did this."

Obama said that "any responsible individuals, any responsible groups, will feel the full weight of justice."

The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security "are mobilizing the appropriate resources to respond," according to the president.

Doctors remove ball bearings from victims

A law enforcement official in Boston said investigators "have a number of active leads and some good early progress in the forensics analysis" but are yet to identify any suspects.

"The situation remains fluid, and it remains too early to establish the cause and motivation," the FBI's Boston Division said in a statement asking people to call in with any information, images or details related to the explosions.

"No piece of information or detail is too small," it said.

Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis said many people were being questioned.

A federal law enforcement official told CNN that both bombs were small, and initial tests showed no C-4 or other high-grade explosive material, suggesting the packages used in the attack were crude devices.

U.S. Rep. Bill Keating of Massachusetts said authorities had discovered two other explosive devices that hadn't gone off.

Witness: 'I saw blood everywhere'

One unexploded device was found at a hotel on Boylston Street near the bomb site, and another unexploded device was found at an undisclosed location, according to Keating, a Democrat and member of the House Homeland Security committee.

He called the bombings a "sophisticated, coordinated, planned attack."

The unexploded devices that were recovered could provide a treasure trove of information such as fingerprints and indications of the bomb maker's design, a federal law enforcement official who now works in the intelligence community said.

And from the bombs that did go off, investigators would be looking for fragments and anything indicating the "signature" of the bomb makers, the official said.

In addition to scrutinizing images of surveillance cameras in the area, the FBI was most likely issuing subpoenas for records from cell towers in the area to isolate and trace calls from around Copley Square at the time of the blasts, according to the official.

Bombing is the latest Patriots Day tragedy

As authorities searched the scene, numerous suspicious packages were found, possibly because people fled the area, leaving items behind. Investigators were checking those objects.

Bomb-sniffing dogs were working the area of the bombings and nearby streets, checking every single item on curbs or near the street -- including "every construction cone, every Port-a-Jon" -- to make sure there were no explosive devices left, CNN affiliate WHDH in Boston reported.

Law enforcement officials were also chasing possible leads.

Investigators warned police officers to be on the lookout for a "darker-skinned or black male" with a possible foreign accent in connection with the Marathon bombs, according to a law enforcement advisory obtained by CNN. The man was seen with a black backpack and sweatshirt and was trying to get into a restricted area about five minutes before the first explosion, the lookout notice states.

A Saudi citizen with a leg wound was under guard at a Boston hospital in connection with the bombings, but investigators cannot say he is involved at this time and he is not in custody, a law enforcement official said Monday evening.

After initial suggestions that a third blast Monday, which took place at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library, could be related to the marathon bombings, police said that that incident was connected to a mechanical problem.

The library said all staff and visitors were safe.

Here's what we know so far about the attack

See detailed map of the terror attack

Flights banned over site of bombings