Police, citizens and technology factor into Boston bombing probe

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6. 'The brothers’ mother, Zubeidat Tsarnaeva, told Russia Today television on Friday

that Tamerlan “got involved in religious politics five years ago.” She said FBI agents had been watching her son for “three to five years. They knew what my son was doing. . . . They used to tell me that he was really a serious leader and they are afraid of him.”

The FBI said Friday that at the request of a foreign government that was concerned that Tamerlan “was a follower of radical Islam and a strong believer,” the agency had interviewed him and his relatives but “did not find any terrorism activity, domestic or foreign.” Officials have acknowledged that the request came from Russia.

Once the photos of the men in caps were made public Thursday, the FBI tip line filled with calls, including one from the brothers’ aunt, who provided her nephews’ identity, according to federal law enforcement officials.

As investigators expected, making the photos public not only brought in new information, but also spurred the brothers into action. . .

The police commissioner said releasing images of the brothers may have spurred their violent rampage. “We may have forced their hands by releasing the videos,” he said. But he said that was nonetheless the right move: “I truly believe they were planning more attacks, based on the evidence we saw at Watertown. I think that by forcing their hand, we saved a much larger loss of life. . . . These individuals were bent on murder and mayhem.”'