TORONTO – The two suspects identified in the Boston bombings have been identified by officials as Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev, 19, and his older brother Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26 and are both reported to be from Chechnya.
Militants from Chechnya and other restive provinces in Russia’s North Caucasus have targeted Moscow in the past with hostage-takings and bombings. But why Chechens would carry out a terrorist attack on U.S soil is hard to determine, Seva Gunitsky, assistant professor of political science at the University of Toronto, told Global News.
If the suspects in the Boston Marathon bombings are linked to insurgencies “this would be the first time an attack has occurred outside of Russia,” said Gunitsky.
“Chechnya has always been very anti-Russian. They’ve been pro-U.S when the United States tried to intervene in the way Russia was handling Chechen rebels.”
It’s being reported that the suspects have ties to radical Islamist groups, but Gunitsky said this has not been a long standing tradition in the region.
“The radicalization of Islam in Russia has only taken place in the last 16 years. Traditionally it hasn’t been popular. It’s a very strange situation,” said Gunitsky.
One of the suspects Tamerlan Tsarneav, killed in a police shootout with law enforcement, was a boxer who was training to be a boxer and had dreams of competing in the Olympics.
On the website Will Box For Passport a photo essay about a young man by the name of Tamerlan Tsarnaev reads “Unless his native Chechnya becomes independent, Tamerlan says he would rather compete for the United States than for Russia.”
Gunitsky said given the suspects background and pro-U.S statements the motivation for the attack in Boston is hard to speculate on.
“It’s possible they are trying to raise awareness about Chechnya, but this is a very strange way of doing it,” said Gunitsky.
With files from the Associated Press
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