Boston bombs: Suspect identified, sources say

INVESTIGATORS have a “clear” video recording of a suspect with a bag containing one of the bombs that killed three people and injured more than 180 at the Boston marathon, according to a US law enforcement source.

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The “significant progress” in the case, which was expected to be confirmed at a formal press conference, came from FBI analysis of CCTV footage retrieved from the Lord & Taylor department store in Boylston Street, the scene of the blasts, the source said.

The mangled lid of a pressure cooker that the FBI believes was used to make at least one of the two bombs was found on a nearby rooftop yesterday.

Together with a circuit board, wires and other smaller pieces, the cooker lid will be used by forensic experts to try to reconstruct the shrapnel-packed bomb and provide clues to the identity of its makers.

The breakthroughs came as Boston prepared for today’s visit by president Barack Obama, who has condemned the bombing as “a cowardly and heinous attack”.

Mr Obama and his wife, Michelle, will attend a multi-faith service this morning to promote healing and honour the victims: an eight-year-old boy and two women in their twenties, all killed as they watched the final stages of the marathon.

The president hosted a briefing by homeland security officials at the White House yesterday, at which he was advised of developments in the burgeoning criminal investigation.