The older of the two Chechen brothers accused of the Boston marathon bombings once dreamed of representing the US as a boxer, but became radicalised after moving to America a decade ago – and created a YouTube list dedicated to terrorism.
Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, the older brother of 19-year-old Dzhokhar, who is currently the target of a massive all-out manhunt in Boston at its suburbs, was shot dead Thursday evening in an armed confrontation at MIT.
Officials say the two siblings, refugees from the Caucasus region, were the men behind the horrific terrorist attack that took the lives of three and left 176 injured during the Boston Marathon Monday.
In the hours since the Tsarnaevs have been identified as the prime suspects in the bombings, a picture has begun to emerge of the older brother as a man who felt like an outsider in the US and had recently become radicalised.
The 26-year-old had a profile on YouTube channel since August 2012. Five months ago, Tamerlan created a playlist dedicated to terrorism.
Named simply 'Terrorists,' the playlist included a pair of videos, which are now no longer available.
Although most of the clips in the channel are ordinary music videos, Tamerlan Tsarnaev's YouTube channel shows signs that he had been drawn to radical Islamism.
Among the songs on his playlists was one called 'I will dedicate my life to Jihad.' He also featured videos recorded by recent converts to Islam.
Both he and his brothers are believed to have military experience. NBC News learned that counter-terrorism officials were examining possible links between them and the Islamic Jihad Union of central Asia.
NBC 4 New York reported Friday that Tamerlan Tsarnaev flew in and out of John F. Kennedy Airport last year and spent six months out of the country, raising the possibility that he may have received terror training abroad.
Travel records obtained by the station show that the 26-year-old left New York January 12, 2012, en route to Moscow. He returned to JFK July 17.
Documents show a photo of a bearded Tsarnaev. According to the records, he was born October 21, 1986 and first entered US through JFK July 19, 2003.
According to reporting by NBC News, the deceased Tsarnaev sibling became a naturalised US citizen on September 11, 2012 – the 11th anniversary of the 911 terrorist attacks.
Representing New England in 2010 National Golden Gloves competition in Utah, Tsarnaev dreamed of being 'selected for the US Olympic team.
'Unless his native Chechnya becomes independent, Tamerlan says he would rather compete for the US than for Russia,' reads the caption to one of the pictures that shows Tamerlan during his workout.
Tamerlan, who was affiliated with a Team Lowell club, won the Rocky Marciano Trophy as New England Golden Gloves heavyweight champion in 2010.
He boxed in a 2004 tournament as part of the Golden Gloves tournament, telling The Lowell Sun newspaper at the time, "I like the USA."
He said that his first love was music, and that he played the piano and violin. He studied accounting as a part-time student at Bunker Hill Community College in Boston. School officials say that the 26-year-old attended classes there for three semesters: fall 2006, spring 2007 and fall 2008. According to a profile that appeared in a Boston University magazine in 2010, Tamerlan wanted to become an engineer.
- Culled from dailymail.co.uk
