Boston bombers on a budget: 'Shoestring' terrorist brothers' bombs cost less than £120 to make
The brothers detonated the bombs near the marathon’s finishing line 9 days ago killing three people and injuring more than 280
Stocking up: Dzhokhar buying food hours before being named as suspect
The Boston bombers were branded “shoestring terrorists” today as it emerged each pressure cooker device cost less than £120 to make. Brothers Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev used 3lbs of explosive powder from the same fireworks company that sold firecrackers to the Times square bomber. Older brother Tamerlan, 26, visited Phantom Fireworks in New Hampshire two months before the attack asking which pyrotechnic made the ‘biggest and loudest” noise. He travelled north out of Massachusetts as the fireworks are illegal in his home state. He packed the powder in one of two pressure cookers he had bought from department store Macy’s filling it with nails and ball bearings to cause maximum injuries. The brothers detonated the bombs near the marathon’s finishing line 9 days ago killing three people and injuring more than 280. Former Olympic boxing hopeful Tamerlan visited Phantom Fireworks on February 6 buying a £130 ‘Lock and Load’ mortar kit. The pack, described as ‘barely legal’, contained four rocket launchers and 24 “30 gramme power packed” shells. The Muslim extremist used a buy one get one free voucher to get a second kit. Explosive experts said the two packs would provide enough fire power for one of the pressure-cooker bombs. Disturbingly, Phantom Fireworks sold the firecrackers to Faisal Shahzad three years ago in his failed attempt to blow up Times Square in New York.
Atrocities: The Tsarnaev brothers
He purchased 288 firecrackers from the firm’s store in Matamoras, Pennsylvania, for the pressure-cooker bomb he planted in a Nissan Pathfinder. Bill Weimer, vice-president of Phantom Fireworks in Seabrook, New Hampshire, said: “We were just shocked. “After our Times Square experience, we said ‘It can’t happen twice’. “Like 99% of the men who come in, he asked ‘What’s the biggest and loudest thing you have?’ “It was a totally unremarkable sale.” It was only when they looked at the sales record they found Tamerlan had been in their store. He said he contacted the FBI immediately. Tonight it was unclear where the bombers had bought their other explosives from but it is believed they had tested out their bombs before carrying out the attack. The Tsarnaevs’ plot has little resemblance to the 9/11 attacks where the hijackers spent an estimated £325,000 for flight training, living expenses, travel, and tickets for the planes they hijacked. A source close to the investigation said authorities estimate the brothers spent around £220 on their deadly attacks. He said: “Each bomb could have been made for around a $180 (£120). “The fireworks were 200 bucks (£130), two cookers are $120 (£80) and batteries would of been just a few dollars more. “The whole plot was terrorism on a shoestring. They were clearly on a budget. “It wouldn’t take much to fund it but its just shows how a little money can cause a lot of devastation.” The details came as it emerged the brothers killed rookie cop Sean Collier, 26, for his gun. The MIT police officer was executed in his patrol car as the brothers tried to escape but their attempts failed as had a locking system on his holster. As yet no one has come forward to claim the body of Tamerlan, who died during a police shoot out just hours after they killed Collier. His wife, Muslim convert Katherine Russell, 24, was today being interviewed by FBI interrogators.
The brothers detonated the bombs near the marathon’s finishing line 9 days ago killing three people and injuring more than 280
Stocking up: Dzhokhar buying food hours before being named as suspect
The Boston bombers were branded “shoestring terrorists” today as it emerged each pressure cooker device cost less than £120 to make. Brothers Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev used 3lbs of explosive powder from the same fireworks company that sold firecrackers to the Times square bomber. Older brother Tamerlan, 26, visited Phantom Fireworks in New Hampshire two months before the attack asking which pyrotechnic made the ‘biggest and loudest” noise. He travelled north out of Massachusetts as the fireworks are illegal in his home state. He packed the powder in one of two pressure cookers he had bought from department store Macy’s filling it with nails and ball bearings to cause maximum injuries. The brothers detonated the bombs near the marathon’s finishing line 9 days ago killing three people and injuring more than 280. Former Olympic boxing hopeful Tamerlan visited Phantom Fireworks on February 6 buying a £130 ‘Lock and Load’ mortar kit. The pack, described as ‘barely legal’, contained four rocket launchers and 24 “30 gramme power packed” shells. The Muslim extremist used a buy one get one free voucher to get a second kit. Explosive experts said the two packs would provide enough fire power for one of the pressure-cooker bombs. Disturbingly, Phantom Fireworks sold the firecrackers to Faisal Shahzad three years ago in his failed attempt to blow up Times Square in New York.
Atrocities: The Tsarnaev brothers
He purchased 288 firecrackers from the firm’s store in Matamoras, Pennsylvania, for the pressure-cooker bomb he planted in a Nissan Pathfinder. Bill Weimer, vice-president of Phantom Fireworks in Seabrook, New Hampshire, said: “We were just shocked. “After our Times Square experience, we said ‘It can’t happen twice’. “Like 99% of the men who come in, he asked ‘What’s the biggest and loudest thing you have?’ “It was a totally unremarkable sale.” It was only when they looked at the sales record they found Tamerlan had been in their store. He said he contacted the FBI immediately. Tonight it was unclear where the bombers had bought their other explosives from but it is believed they had tested out their bombs before carrying out the attack. The Tsarnaevs’ plot has little resemblance to the 9/11 attacks where the hijackers spent an estimated £325,000 for flight training, living expenses, travel, and tickets for the planes they hijacked. A source close to the investigation said authorities estimate the brothers spent around £220 on their deadly attacks. He said: “Each bomb could have been made for around a $180 (£120). “The fireworks were 200 bucks (£130), two cookers are $120 (£80) and batteries would of been just a few dollars more. “The whole plot was terrorism on a shoestring. They were clearly on a budget. “It wouldn’t take much to fund it but its just shows how a little money can cause a lot of devastation.” The details came as it emerged the brothers killed rookie cop Sean Collier, 26, for his gun. The MIT police officer was executed in his patrol car as the brothers tried to escape but their attempts failed as had a locking system on his holster. As yet no one has come forward to claim the body of Tamerlan, who died during a police shoot out just hours after they killed Collier. His wife, Muslim convert Katherine Russell, 24, was today being interviewed by FBI interrogators.