Explosions at Boston Marathon

[Platapus]

I also post on a car owners forum. They also have a "general topics" forum on their website.

Not surprising, there is a thread on the Boston Marathon incident.


So far 3 pages of posts about this horrible incident and not one single political remark. Nothing but concern for members in that area and discussions on the attack.

If they can do that, why can't this forum do it?

[August]

Originally Posted by Platapus

I also post on a car owners forum. They also have a "general topics" forum on their website.

Not surprising, there is a thread on the Boston Marathon incident.


So far 3 pages of posts about this horrible incident and not one single political remark. Nothing but concern for members in that area and discussions on the attack.

If they can do that, why can't this forum do it?

I don't know. We didn't even make it past post #12.

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by Platapus

I also post on a car owners forum. They also have a "general topics" forum on their website.

Not surprising, there is a thread on the Boston Marathon incident.


So far 3 pages of posts about this horrible incident and not one single political remark. Nothing but concern for members in that area and discussions on the attack.

If they can do that, why can't this forum do it?

Quite simply...this is GT and there is nothing unusual or different to what has occurred in the past.

[Tchocky]

I like to think GT can be self-correcting about stuff like this. The stupid stuff being posted is getting drowned in sense.

[Bilge_Rat]

apparently authorities are now saying the Saudi POI is a witness, not a suspect.


reports say the bombs were packed in "pressure cookers" to maximise the impact. There are also reportts that these types of bombs are in common use in the ME which would seem to point to an Islamic group.

CNN) -- The bombs that turned the finish line at the Boston Marathon into a scene of horror were made from pressure cookers and hidden in backpacks, federal law enforcement sources said Tuesday.

The blasts were likely detonated by timers -- not by cell phones, a law enforcement official said.
The U.S. government has warned federal agencies in the past that pressure cookers -- airtight pots used to quickly cook or preserve foods -- have been turned into bombs in parts of the world. A Department of Homeland Security memo called it "a technique commonly taught in Afghan terrorist training camps."

"Typically, these bombs are made by placing TNT or other explosives in a pressure cooker and attaching a blasting cap at the top of the pressure cooker," the memo said.


Such bombs are "very effective," terrorism expert Jeff Beatty told CNN. Taliban and al Qaeda militants "use them to make their IEDs," he said.

"That doesn't mean it was the Taliban -- other people can read about this," said Beatty, who served in the FBI, CIA and the military's Delta Force.

So far, investigators have found no foreign or al Qaeda connection to the bombings, a U.S. official told CNN.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/15/us/bos...ion/index.html

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by Tchocky

I like to think GT can be self-correcting about stuff like this. The stupid stuff being posted is getting drowned in sense.

I certainly hope so...less work for moderation

[Cybermat47]

Originally Posted by Bilge_Rat

There are also reportts that these types of bombs are in common use in the ME which would seem to point to an Islamic group.

I doubt that this was the work of Islamic extremists. They generally tend to use a suicide bomber to pull the trigger, don't they?

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by Cybermat47

I doubt that this was the work of Islamic extremists. They generally tend to use a suicide bomber to pull the trigger, don't they?

Not certain for sure....do they?

[Bilge_Rat]

Well it could be a copycat group or another group that trained in the ME. The type of bombs would seem to indicate they know what they are doing.

Extremists in the ME do not always use suicide bombers, it really depends on the target and how difficult it is to approach.

[August]

Originally Posted by Cybermat47

I doubt that this was the work of Islamic extremists. They generally tend to use a suicide bomber to pull the trigger, don't they?

Well yeah but only in parts of the world where they have the population to draw from. Over here they might place a higher value on hard to recruit operatives rather than expend them in a suicide bombing.

[Bilge_Rat]

more details on the bombs here:

The explosives were made of pressure cookers packed with gunpowder and shrapnel, law enforcement sources said.

The sources said the explosives were in six-litre pressure cookers and placed in black duffel bags that were placed on the ground; the bags contained shards of metal, nails and ball bearings.

Al Jazeera's Alan Fisher said such a bomb was set to explode by using a mobile phone and had been used in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"The police were saying that there were traces of pressure cooker found at the site," he said.

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/americ...112944580.html

edit; apparently, one the 2010 Times Square bombs was the same type.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/...dd9_story.html

[TLAM Strike]

Originally Posted by Stealhead

You just seem to be building your case against him.

I'm just an intel guy, I search for and find stuff. Give me a name, an item or a place and I'll find out what there is to know that is relevant.

I've written in a journalistic capacity before. I know not to and don't make up a case against someone, I just report the relevant facts.

The facts the way I see them are that the dude is Saudi he has a fairly common Saudi last name and he has a Facebook photo that shows him holding a handgun which you have no idea where the photo was taken.

Well unless I get the origional photo in question as far as we know that photo was taken in the suburb of Revere Mass at or near where the person lived.

There is no proof what so ever that the BPD ever considered this person a POI.

Fox news states that he was the PoI

The source confirmed to FoxNews.com that the person of interest is Abdul Rahman Ali Alharbi, a 20-year-old Saudi. His Facebook page identifies him as a current or former student at the New England School of English. He is believed to have entered the country on a student visa. The source stressed that Alharbi is a person of interest, not a suspect, and said he suffered serious injuries in the explosion.

From another report:

Sources confirmed to FoxNews.com that the apartment being searched in connection to the bombings is on the fifth floor of the building.
A source close to the investigation confirms to FoxNews.com the man whose apartment was searched is considered a person of interest in the case, and is the same person of interest Fox News confirmed earlier authorities are guarding at a local hospital.
The source stressed that the person of interest, not a suspect, and said he suffered serious injuries in the explosion.
Investigators were seen leaving the Revere house early Tuesday carrying brown paper bags, plastic trash bags and a duffel bag, according to the Associated Press.

Fox also reports that he was ruled out:

Authorities had searched an apartment in the nearby Boston suburb of Revere as part of the investigation into the explosions. But the individual in question, who was initially considered a "person of interest," has now been ruled out as a suspect, sources confirmed to Fox News.

So we know he was at the site. He was injured. He was questioned and his apartment searched and is no longer considered a suspect. None of this contradicts anything about what I have stated.


Since was have exhausted all the facts about our former PoI lets discuss the weapon used. It appears to be the trendy Pressure Cooker IED.

^one captured somewhere not Boston.



Apparently very common in the 'stans and India since the High Alts make cooking difficult having one goes unnoticed. I imagine it makes for a decent direction explosive due to its shape. They place explosives in the center and pack shrapnel material around it.

[Bilge_Rat]

I can see why they placed them in Duffel bags. Someone carrying around a pressure cooker would attract attention. How much would this weigh?

Presumably, this will make it easier to spot the perpetrator(s) on the videos.

[eddie]

Sad to see that 2 brothers who were there cheering on a friend running the marathon, have both lost a leg in the explosion. Has to be awful for their mother who has to constantly shuffle between two different hospitals to visit them. One of the brothers girl friend was badly burned too.

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013...ost-a-leg?lite

[TLAM Strike]

Originally Posted by Bilge_Rat

I can see why they placed them in Duffel bags. Someone carrying around a pressure cooker would attract attention. How much would this weigh?

Presumably, this will make it easier to spot the perpetrator(s) on the videos.

I looked around and about 20-30 pounds based on the capacity and weight of the pressure cooker I have at my house and weight of C4. I doubt the explosive was something like C4 so it probably is closer to the 30+ pound range.