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Ibragim Todashev, a 27-year-old mixed martial arts fighter, was gunned down by authorities at his Orlando home during a meeting with the agent and two Massachusetts state troopers, authorities said. The agent was taken to a hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening. The FBI gave no details on why it was interested in Todashev except to say that he was being questioned as part of the Boston investigation. But some of his former roommates who were questioned as well said that Todashev knew one of the bombing suspects, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, from mixed martial arts fighting in Boston and that the FBI was asking about him. Public records show Todashev lived in Watertown, Mass., just outside Boston, last year.
Tamerlan Tsarnaev, an aspiring boxer, was killed in a shootout with police days after the April 15 bombings. His younger brother, Dzhokhar, survived and is charged with carrying out the attack that killed three people and wounded more than 260. Investigators have been trying to establish the scope of the plot. In addition, authorities in Massachusetts said they would investigate whether Tamerlan Tsarnaev had any connection to an unsolved 2011 slaying in the Boston suburb of Waltham, where three men were found dead in an apartment, their throats slit and marijuana sprinkled over their bodies. One of the victims was a boxer and a friend of Tsarnaev's.
This May 4, 2013 police photo provided by the Orange County Corrections Department in Orlando, Fla., shows Ibragim Todashev after his arrest for aggravated battery in Orlando. Todashev, who was being questioned in Orlando by authorities in the Boston bombing probe, was fatally shot Wednesday, May 22, 2013 when he initiated a violent confrontation, FBI officials said.
Todashev had lived on and off with other Chechens in the Orlando suburb of Kissimmee and had moved to Orlando more recently, friends said. "He's a regular guy, nothing wrong," Saeed Dunkaev said. Muslin Chapkhanov, another former roommate, said Todashev knew the older Tsarnaev brother. Todashev "was living in Boston and I think he trained with him," Chapkhanov said. Former roommate Khusen Taramov said the FBI was asking questions about a conversation Todashev had with the elder bombing suspect a month before the Boston Marathon attack.
The Tsarnaev brothers have roots in the turbulent Russian regions of Dagestan and Chechnya, which have become recruiting grounds for Islamic extremists. Investigators have said the brothers carried out the Boston bombing in retaliation for the U.S. wars in Muslim Iraq and Afghanistan. Two law enforcement officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release details of the investigation, said Todashev came at the FBI agent with a knife before he was shot. An FBI team was dispatched from Washington to review the shooting, standard procedure in such cases.
More Man shot to death while questioned in Boston probe
According to an English copy of the magazine obtained by Flashpoint Partners, an American group tracking jihadist websites, the issue also has a section heralding the killing of a British soldier in London last week. The authors of the magazine, published by al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula based in Yemen, argue April's deadly violence in Boston proves that lone-wolf attacks can be effective in the United States. The issue also warns Americans that they're not safe against such "unstoppable" operations. Investigators believe that alleged Boston bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev, who was killed days after the attack, accessed Inspire magazine, which had instructions on bomb-making, a law enforcement official told CNN this month.
According to analysts, the explosive devices used in the attack that killed three and injured more than 260 others had striking similarities to a bomb recipe in the first issue of the magazine in June 2010. "How to build a bomb in your Mom's kitchen" has been downloaded by militants in multiple Islamist terrorist plots. The upcoming issue, which falls just under 40 pages, calls on American Muslims to follow those who masterminded the Boston attacks. And as long as simple materials-like the pressure cooker allegedly used in the Boston bombing - remain legal, such acts can be carried out with ease, the magazine says. "Lone-Jihad is impossible to counter and stop, except when basic cooking ingredients and building material become illegal," the magazine states. Embedded among the articles are glossy photos of the carnage from the bombing near the Boston Marathon finish line. One section, "An eye for an eye," features a graphic of a bloody knife and an image of a meat cleaver wielding-suspect in the deadly daylight attack on a British soldier in Woolwich.
The author says "the message of these young men has been conveyed to the whole world, including every Britain, every westerner, every kafar (non-believer) whose hands have Muslim blood." In a separate letter, "Jones the Rebel" instructs American Muslims to "break down these psychological barriers which hinder us from attacking this enemy ... beware of belittling yourself and your capability." The Boston bombings, the author states, "revealed the power of the lone jihad operation" and encourages readers to "take things into your hands." It should be noted that the quality of English in the new issue is significantly lower than in previous editions. "The Boston events, the road accidents, the poisoned letters, disregard of the people behind them, indicate that the control of your security has broken away and operations against you has taken a path which can be controlled not," Qassim ar-Reimy, a senior commander for al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, writes in a message to Americans.
Making the bombs, he argues, is a skill now within every individual's reach. Another article features a graphic of Tamerlan Tsarnaev depicted in paradise. While no physical links have been found between Tsarnaev and his brother, Dzhokar, and al Qaeda, Inspire magazine is nonetheless taking credit for being a catalyst for the attacks, says CNN Terrorism Analyst Paul Cruickshank. "They're opportunistically taking credit for this, saying, 'We encouraged these guys. We gave them instructions and look what happened.' And they're trying to encourage others to do the same," Cruickshank told CNN, adding the magazine is "very difficult" to shut down because of its ability to disseminate online.
Al Qaeda magazine encourages Boston-style bombings ? CNN Security Clearance - CNN.com Blogs
