FBI: Suspect in Boston Marathon bombing has ties to Islamic State
FBI agents have found the man who they say was involved in the Boston Marathon bombings, but they are still looking for his possible accomplices, according to a senior law enforcement official.
The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing.
The official said the man, who is believed to have ties to the Islamic State militant group, is a U.S. citizen who lived in the United States and was on his way to Boston from Saudi Arabia.
The FBI is still investigating the bombing, which killed three people and injured more than 260 others, and is looking into the possibility that the suspects used the explosives in the blasts to target a particular group of people.
Officials said Friday that they have interviewed several people from Saudi and other foreign countries about possible links to the bombing.
They said the investigation into the bombings remains ongoing.
The man is believed in the bombings to have been a member of the Saudi intelligence service and was involved with several operations targeting the Islamic Republic of Iran, the official said.
The Saudi official said investigators were trying to determine whether the man’s involvement in the attacks came from the United Kingdom or Saudi Arabia, but that the U.K. has not been involved in any terrorist attacks in the region.
The U.N. Security Council on Friday unanimously adopted a resolution calling on Saudi Arabia and its allies to do more to stop the spread of extremism and violence.
The resolution calls on Saudi Arabian officials to “promote a more peaceful, stable and tolerant society, including an end to the promotion of violence and terror by all means, including acts of terrorism, against civilians and non-state actors.”
Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Arab countries have taken a tougher stance on extremism in recent years, with the government of King Salman cracking down on the hardline Wahhabi sect that dominates the country.
The United States has backed Saudi Arabia’s efforts to fight extremism.