US hunts for Boston ‘pressure cooker’ bombers

US: US investigators Tuesday told how two suspected pressure cooker bombs sprayed nails and metal pellets into Boston marathon crowds, killing three people and injuring more than 180. But with no claim of responsibility made and police not committing to blaming foreign or domestic militants, Boston harbored widespread questions about the perpetrators as the city and the nation paid tribute to the dead.

US President Barack Obama condemned Monday's attack at the marathon finish line as “an act of terror.” He will attend a special service for the victims in Boston on Thursday.

US authorities threw virtually every investigation agency into the hunt with more than 1,000 officers working in Boston alone, said Rick DesLauriers, head of the FBI's Boston office.

“This will be a worldwide investigation,” DesLauriers told reporters. “We will go to the ends of the Earth to identify the subject or subjects responsible for this despicable crime,” he added.

DesLauriers said fragments of suspected pressure cookers used to pack the bomb had been found and were being put together by experts. He added that metal pellets and nails had also been recovered.

Similar easy-to-make devices are used as roadside bombs in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Shreds of black nylon bags believed to have been used to carry the bombs were also found, the agent said, adding that “the range of suspects and motives remains wide open.” Two US officials said so far there was no indication that Al-Qaeda or other foreign extremist organizations were behind the attack, but they added the investigation was still at an early stage.

“It's too early to draw any conclusions,” one US official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told AFP.

Doctors, who carried out at least 13 amputations, some at the scene, gave details of the bomb impact.

Among the dead was eight-year-old Martin Richard, who was watching the marathon with his family. His mother suffered a grievous brain injury and his sister lost a leg.

A Chinese woman who was a graduate student at Boston University also died, the university and the Chinese consulate in New York confirmed. However, at the request of her family, her name was not released.

AFP