16 Apr 2013

Pakistani Taliban deny involvement in Boston blasts

A leading Islamist terror group says it was not behind the marathon bombs, as America asks: did the bombers come from home or abroad?

Speaking to Channel 4 News, Ihsanullah Ihsan, the spokesman for the violent Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan organisation, stated: “We have nothing to do with these attacks in Boston in the US as we were not involved.

“However, we would further comment on these attacks in the United States once a group of Mujaheddin that carried out these blasts publicly claim them.”

It was the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan that claimed responsibility for the botched Times Square attack in New York in 2010 and trained a Pakistani man, Faisal Shahzad, to carry out terrorist attacks.

We have nothing to do with these attacks in Boston in the US, as we were not involved. Ihsanullah Ihsan, Tahrik-e-Taliban

Later, when Shahzad was arrested in the US, the Taliban issued a video in which chief Hakimullah Mahsud was seen sitting with Faisal Shahzad giving him instructions.

There have been no immediate claims of responsibility for the terror attack, the most serious in the US since the World Trade Center atrocity. Al-Qaeda-linked groups and militant white extremists have both attacked targets in America in the past.

The FBI has taken charge of the investigation but authorities have shed no light on a motive or suspicions as to who may have carried out the bombings. Police currently have no suspects in custody.

McVeigh-type bomber?

Max Abrahms, a terrorism expert at Johns Hopkins university in Baltimore, has speculated the explosions could be the work of foreign or domestic terrorists.

Speaking to Sky News he claimed al-Qaeda has become decentralised after suffering years of US attrition, meaning it could be behind small attacks.

He also raised the prospect of right-wing groups like those led by Timothy McVeigh, who killed 168 in the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995, noting it is the 20th anniversary of the end of the Waco siege, in which 76 people died.

“This was around the time of year when we might expect to see the Timothy McVeigh-type bomber come out of the woodwork because it is the anniversary of Waco, when the United States invaded a large group of these types of sympathisers,” he stated.

“I think it is either an al-Qaeda-affiliated group or a right-wing extremist group.”

Richard Barrett, the former United Nations co-ordinator for the al-Qaeda and Taliban monitoring team, said it was too early to say who was to blame for the marathon blasts, but said the timing of the attack on Patriots’ Day and the relatively small size of the devices suggested the work of a domestic extremist.

Mr Barrett, now senior director at the Qatar International Academy for Security Studies, said: “At the moment it looks more likely that it was a right-wing terrorist incident, rather than an al-Qaeda attack because of the size of the devices.

“This happened on Patriots’ Day, it is also the day Americans are supposed to have their taxes in, and Boston is quite a symbolic city. These are all little indicators.”

Mr Barrett said the number of right-wing extremist incidents in the US has grown since the September 11 attacks.

Al-Qaeda attacks normally involve terrorists who have trained using instructions from the internet or at a training camp, which helps identify them, but domestic terrorists operate in isolation or through a small number of acquaintances and often have smaller targets in mind.

US supercop Bill Bratton, a former head of Boston police who is now based in London, said there was “no shortage of potential suspects”.

Asked about the potential threat to Baroness Thatcher’s funeral tomorrow and the London Marathon this weekend, Mr Bratton added: “Needless to say, nobody does it better than British police services in policing these kinds of events.

“You’ve had all too many experiences with the actual attacks, so certainly security will be ramped up from the already extraordinarily high levels originally planned for these events.”

Pakistani Taliban headed by Hakimullah Mahsud have denied their involvement in the Boston blasts and said they would further comment whether it was good or not after “Mujahideen” publicly claim responsibility for the attacks.

Speaking to Channel 4 News Ihsanullah Ihsan, the spokesman of Pakistan’s violent organisation, Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, stated: “We have nothing to do with these attacks in Boston in the US as we were not involved.

“However, we would further comment on these attacks in the United States once a group of Mujahideen that carried out these blasts publicly claim them.”

Calling from an undisclosed location on Tuesday they said they were drafting their statement to issue to media about the Boston but it would be after the “Mujahideen” claim these attacks in Boston.

It was the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan that claimed responsibility for the botched Time Square attack in New York and trained a Pakistani man Faisal Shahzad to carry out terrorist attacks.

Later when Shahzad was arrested in the US, the Taliban issued a video in which chief Hakimullah Mahsud was seen sitting with Faisal Shahzad giving him instructions.

There have been no immediate claims of responsibility for the terror attack, the most serious in the US since the World Trade Centre atrocity. Al Qaida-linked groups and militant white extremists have both attacked targets in America in the past.

The FBI has taken charge of the investigation but authorities have shed no light on a motive or suspicions as to who may have carried out the bombings. Police currently have no suspects in custody.

Max Abrahms, a terrorism expert at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, has speculated the explosions could be the work of foreign or domestic terrorists.

Speaking to Sky News he claimed Al Qaida has become decentralised after years of US attrition against it, meaning it could be behind small attacks.

He also raised the prospect of right-wing groups like those led by Timothy McVeigh, who killed 168 in the Oklahoma City Bombing in 1995, noting it is the 20th anniversary of the end of the Waco siege, in which 76 people died.

“This was around the time of year when we might expect to see the Timothy McVeigh-type bomber come out of the woodwork because it is the anniversary of Waco, when the United States invaded a large group of these types of sympathisers,” he stated.

“I think it is either an Al Qaida-affiliated group or a right-wing extremist group.”