Boston bombing suspect's family struggles to find burial site

BOSTON (Reuters) - The body of suspected Boston Marathon bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev remained in limbo on Monday as his family searched for a cemetery that would accept the remains.

Several Massachusetts cemeteries have refused to bury Tsarnaev, and protesters have staked out the Worcester funeral home holding the body. Despite a plea from the funeral home director, Governor Deval Patrick said on Monday he would not get involved.

The controversy marked a rare period of discord in a state that was largely united after the attacks on one of its marquee events.

Tsarnaev, 26, died in a gun battle with police on April 19, four days after bombs he is believed to have set with his younger brother Dzhokhar killed three people and injured another 264 near the finish line of the world-famous marathon.

Relatives have said they want him buried nearby. Under Islamic law, the body cannot be cremated, a procedure used for criminals including Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh.

"The whole situation is unprecedented," said David Walkinshaw, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Funeral Directors Association. The state of Massachusetts does not own its own cemeteries, he said, and the federal government has only cemeteries for war veterans.

"The challenge here is that there's no way to demand a cemetery allow for a burial to take place," Walkinshaw said.

Some Massachusetts residents want the body sent back to Tsarnaev's native Russia. William Breault of Worcester told reporters on Monday he had set up a bank account to raise funds to ship the remains.

"I not only don't want to see him buried in Worcester, Massachusetts. ... I don't think he should be buried in the state," Breault told CNN.

In Washington, State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell said he was not aware that anyone from Russia or Massachusetts had contacted the department about it. "We're unaware of any efforts to coordinate sending his remains to Russia," he said.

Gabriel Gomez, a Massachusetts Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, suggested disposing of Tsarnaev's body in the ocean as was done after U.S. forces killed Osama bin Laden in 2011.

"Bureaucrats worried about where to bury Boston Marathon terrorist #1. To me, it's simple: he should be buried at sea with Bin Laden," he wrote on his official Twitter account.

UNWILLING TO ACCEPT BODY

Tsarnaev's body was taken to Graham Putnam & Mahoney Funeral Parlors in Worcester last week after spending more than a week at a medical examiner's office in Boston. Several cemeteries have said they would not accept Tsarnaev's body for burial.

Graham Putnam funeral home owner Peter Stefan, chairman of a board that oversees funeral services and embalming in Massachusetts, said he has an obligation to accept the remains.

Stefan has said he would seek help from state officials if he could not find a resting place soon. His work has drawn support from other funeral directors, including Morgan Mitchell, another member of the state board.

"There are funeral directors in Massachusetts who have buried people who have been murderers or child molesters. As professionals, we need to put these things to one side," Mitchell said.

Tsarnaev's uncle, Ruslan Tsarni, said on Sunday that his nephew should be buried in Massachusetts, where he lived. Tsarnaev's parents, ethnic Chechens who returned to southern Russia several years ago, have suggested in various interviews and reports that their son should be buried in Cambridge or returned to Russia.

The Massachusetts governor declined on Monday to get involved.

"This is a family issue ... and the family needs to make some decisions. I understand they have some options. They need to exercise one soon," Patrick told reporters.

Cambridge officials urged the Tsarnaevs to look elsewhere.

"The difficult and stressful efforts of the citizens of the City of Cambridge to return to a peaceful life would be adversely impacted by the turmoil, protests and widespread media presence at such an interment," said Cambridge City Manager Robert Healy in a statement Sunday.

"The families of loved ones interred in the Cambridge Cemetery also deserve to have their deceased family members rest in peace."

By Ross Kerber and Aaron Pressman (Additional reporting by Tabassum Zakaria in Washington; Editing by Cynthia Osterman, Doina Chiacu and Philip Barbara)

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Suspects on trial over Morocco cafe bombing (AP)

RABAT, Morocco – Seven people went on trial in Morocco Thursday for the bombing of a Marrakech tourist cafe that killed 17, one of the worst terrorist acts to hit the North African kingdom.

The proceedings were postponed until Aug. 18 to allow lawyers for both the victims and the defense more time to prepare. Both sides pleaded their cases on Thursday's opening day.

The April 28 explosion tore through the Argana cafe in Marrakech's old town, a popular tourist destination. Several of those killed were foreigners.

Defense lawyers asked that the suspects be released pending the next court session, but the court refused.

The defense lawyers also complained about the conditions of detention, comparing them to the U.S. prison camp at Guantanamo. The prosecutor responded angrily that the claim was exaggerated.

The chief suspect, Adel Othmani, appeared relaxed in the courtroom, and turned several times to wave and smile at family members. He was arrested three days after the explosion, and Moroccan police say he has loyalties to al-Qaida and tried to travel to Iraq and Chechnya.

Families of the suspects staged a protests in front of the court, complaining that they had not been able to visit their loved ones behind bars.

Among the charges facing the suspects are premeditated murder, explosives possession, and membership in a banned religious group, according to the state news agency MAP.

The dead included Moroccan, French, British, Swiss and Portuguese victims.

The attack shook relatively peaceful Morocco, a staunch U.S. ally that drew nearly 10 million tourists last year to its sandy beaches, desert and mountain landscapes, and historic sites.

The blast came several weeks after King Mohamed VI promised constitutional reforms to shepherd in more democracy amid a push across the Arab world. Moroccans vote in a referendum on the reforms Friday.

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Germans arrest 3 al-Qaida suspects

BERLIN (AP) — German police on Friday arrested three suspected members of the al-Qaida terrorist organization who officials say posed a "concrete and imminent danger" to the nation.

var data = blocks.columnist;if (data != undefined){document.getElementById('columnistmug').innerHTML=data;} By Mark Keppler, AP

Journalists stand in front of the building where two of three suspected members of al-Qaida were arrested in Dusseldorf, Germany,

By Mark Keppler, AP

Journalists stand in front of the building where two of three suspected members of al-Qaida were arrested in Dusseldorf, Germany,

Authorities did not say whether the three had planned specific targets and offered few details, but security officials said that all three suspects were of Moroccan origin. They also said that two were arrested were in the western German city of Duesseldorf and one in nearby Bochum. The arrests were based on suspicion they were planning a terror attack, they said.

The arrests "succeeded in averting a concrete and imminent danger, presented by international terrorism," German Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich said in a statement. They showed "Germany remains a target of international terrorists."

Germany has escaped any large-scale attack by an Islamic terror organization, such as the Madrid train bombings of 2004 and the London transit attacks of 2005. But Germany's presence as part of the NATO coalition in Afghanistan has sparked anger and at least two major plots have been thwarted or failed in Germany before they could be carried out.

The suspects had been under surveillance since November when Germany increased security across the country in response to heightened terror threat warnings in Europe, but authorities only had enough evidence to launch an official criminal investigation starting April 15, German Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich said in a statement.

Federal prosecutors said earlier they had ordered Germany's federal police to arrest the trio, but gave no further information about the timing or location of the arrests. Officials were planning a news conference for Saturday.

A U.S. official speaking on condition of anonymity in order to discuss an ongoing investigation told The Associated Press in Washington D.C. that a SWAT team picked up three people in a raid on suspicion they were planning an attack with explosives.

"Our concerns about threats in Europe had a number of different threads and strands, some of which have been disrupted by good intelligence and law enforcement work by the relevant services," another U.S. official told the AP on condition of anonymity.

"There have been five disrupted plots in Europe during the past four years ? including a credible plot in Germany in 2007 ? all of which demonstrate Pakistan-based al-Qaida's steadfast intent to attack the US and our allies."

Duesseldorf, a city of 600,000 has one of the largest Moroccan immigrant communities in Germany. It is to host the Eurovision Song Contest on May 14, which is expected to draw hundreds of thousands of spectators.

The German prosecutors said the three alleged terrorists would be brought before a judge Saturday who will decide whether they are to remain in detention pending a trial.

Germany raised its security posture in November after receiving information from its own and foreign intelligence services that led authorities to believe a sleeper cell of some 20 to 25 people may have been planning an attack inside the country or in another European nation.

Around the same time Germany also received information from U.S. sources that an attack similar to that in Mumbai in Nov. 2008 that killed 166 may be planned for Germany, the official said. Later, Germany received information on possible attacks at Christmas or New Year's.

In February, the German government lowered the terror level and reduced the number of police officers patrolling railway stations and other public places, but made clear at the time that a threat to the country still remains.

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Germans arrest 3 al-Qaida suspects

BERLIN (AP) — German police on Friday arrested three suspected members of the al-Qaida terrorist organization who officials say posed a "concrete and imminent danger" to the nation.

Journalists stand in front of the building where two of three suspected members of al-Qaida were arrested in Dusseldorf, Germany,

By Mark Keppler, AP

Journalists stand in front of the building where two of three suspected members of al-Qaida were arrested in Dusseldorf, Germany,

Authorities did not say whether the three had planned specific targets and offered few details, but security officials said that all three suspects were of Moroccan origin. They also said that two were arrested were in the western German city of Duesseldorf and one in nearby Bochum. The arrests were based on suspicion they were planning a terror attack, they said.

The arrests "succeeded in averting a concrete and imminent danger, presented by international terrorism," German Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich said in a statement. They showed "Germany remains a target of international terrorists."

Germany has escaped any large-scale attack by an Islamic terror organization, such as the Madrid train bombings of 2004 and the London transit attacks of 2005. But Germany's presence as part of the NATO coalition in Afghanistan has sparked anger and at least two major plots have been thwarted or failed in Germany before they could be carried out.

The suspects had been under surveillance since November when Germany increased security across the country in response to heightened terror threat warnings in Europe, but authorities only had enough evidence to launch an official criminal investigation starting April 15, German Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich said in a statement.

Federal prosecutors said earlier they had ordered Germany's federal police to arrest the trio, but gave no further information about the timing or location of the arrests. Officials were planning a news conference for Saturday.

A U.S. official speaking on condition of anonymity in order to discuss an ongoing investigation told The Associated Press in Washington D.C. that a SWAT team picked up three people in a raid on suspicion they were planning an attack with explosives.

"Our concerns about threats in Europe had a number of different threads and strands, some of which have been disrupted by good intelligence and law enforcement work by the relevant services," another U.S. official told the AP on condition of anonymity.

"There have been five disrupted plots in Europe during the past four years ? including a credible plot in Germany in 2007 ? all of which demonstrate Pakistan-based al-Qaida's steadfast intent to attack the US and our allies."

Duesseldorf, a city of 600,000 has one of the largest Moroccan immigrant communities in Germany. It is to host the Eurovision Song Contest on May 14, which is expected to draw hundreds of thousands of spectators.

The German prosecutors said the three alleged terrorists would be brought before a judge Saturday who will decide whether they are to remain in detention pending a trial.

Germany raised its security posture in November after receiving information from its own and foreign intelligence services that led authorities to believe a sleeper cell of some 20 to 25 people may have been planning an attack inside the country or in another European nation.

Around the same time Germany also received information from U.S. sources that an attack similar to that in Mumbai in Nov. 2008 that killed 166 may be planned for Germany, the official said. Later, Germany received information on possible attacks at Christmas or New Year's.

In February, the German government lowered the terror level and reduced the number of police officers patrolling railway stations and other public places, but made clear at the time that a threat to the country still remains.

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Al Qaeda suspects to face German court

The three were arrested FridayThere is heightened concern in Germany over al QaedaScores of Germans have traveled to Pakistan training camps in recent years

(CNN) -- Three men suspected of belonging to al Qaeda are expected to appear in a German court on Saturday.

German federal police arrested the three a day earlier, a counterterrorism official told CNN.

The German official told CNN that arrests were made in Dusseldorf and Essen, but he did not provide more details.

The three are expected to appear in court in Karlsruhe on Saturday. No details of impending charges are known, but the federal prosecutor's office has scheduled a Saturday news conference.

Several German news outlets reported that chemicals useful in the production of explosives were found on the suspects and that those arrested were suspected of "plotting a significant attack."

The German magazine Der Spiegel reported that one member of the group -- identified as Abdeladim K., a German resident of Moroccan descent -- is believed to have received training overseas and to have been in frequent online communication with a senior al Qaeda operative in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region in the lead-up to his arrest. According to the magazine, the suspects were arrested after German authorities intercepted communications referring to a "test" in a several-months-long investigation that also saw the involvement of the CIA.

The arrests "succeeded in averting a concrete and imminent danger, presented by international terrorism," German Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich said in a statement. They also showed "Germany remains a target of international terrorists."

German authorities have not indicated whether they believe the group had selected a specific target, though German media outlets noted that the Eurovision song contest, a pan-European televised national musical talent contest, is being held in Dusseldorf in mid May.

The arrests come at a time of heightened concern in Germany over the threat of al Qaeda terrorism.

Last November, Germany raised its alert level after intelligence suggested al Qaeda was plotting a "Mumbai-style" attack against the country as part of a broader conspiracy against European cities.

Islamic militants staged assaults against several targets in the Indian city of Mumbai in November 2008.

A German intelligence official told CNN Friday that while concerns had eased over the plot, security forces remained vigilant.

In September 2007, German authorities broke up a plot to attack American servicemen in the country by a German terrorist cell trained in bomb-making by the Islamic Jihad Union -- an al Qaeda-affiliated Uzbek group based in the tribal areas of Pakistan.

The four plotters, who were convicted of the plot in a trial held in Dusseldorf last year, had amassed 100 times more peroxide-based explosives than had the bombers of the London subway in 2005.

German media outlets have reported that the plot allegedly foiled in Germany Friday was on a similar scale to the 2007 plot.

German intelligence officials have grown increasingly concerned about the numbers of German Islamist extremists traveling for jihad in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region.

While most are believed to travel there to fight in Afghanistan, their presence in the tribal areas of Pakistan has provided al Qaeda and affiliated groups with opportunities to recruit operatives for plots against the West.

German intelligence officials said several militants from the German port city of Hamburg who travelled to train in Pakistan's tribal areas were involved in an al Qaeda attack plans against Europe last fall.

According to German officials, information from one of them -- Ahmed Sidiqi -- helped prompt an unprecedented U.S. State Department travel advisory for Americans travelling in Europe. Sidiqi subsequently provided useful intelligence to German counterterrorism agencies, according to German intelligence officials

According to German authorities, more than 200 Germans have traveled to training camps in Pakistan in recent years. German intelligence officials told CNN that more than 40 are still believed to be fighting and training in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region.

The arrests come just two weeks after one of the Germans currently thought to be in the tribal areas purportedly released a message calling for attacks in Germany. The message came from Mounir Chouka, an extremist who had lived in Bonn.

According to a translation of the message by the SITE Intelligence Group, Chouka urged attacks in Germany following what he called a "pyramid system," in which priority should be given to targeting the head of state, then federal officials and soldiers, and finally average citizens.

intelligence officials said Chouka is one of two brothers who have emerged as German spokesmen for the al Qaeda-affiliated Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU). The brothers are suspected of facilitating the recruitment of dozens of Germans into the IMU, including Ahmed Sidiqi's Hamburg group.

Of greatest concern however are the 100 or so German jihadists who have returned home. According to a German intelligence source, many of them are under observation by German intelligence agencies because of their continued support for extremist Islamist views and their continued communication with al Qaeda-linked militants in Pakistan.

Homegrown radicalization has emerged as a significant problem in Germany in recent years, fuelled according to German intelligence officials by the rise of social media and the emergence of German-language jihadist sites that have called on German Muslims to fight American troops in Afghanistan.

In March, two American servicemen were killed when a German Islamist extremist boarded their bus at Frankfurt airport and shot them at point-blank range. The alleged shooter, Arid Uka, was Facebook friends with several prominent German Islamist extremists, according to German intelligence officials.

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Dodgers fan beating suspects asked to surrender

Authorities released these composite sketches of the two assailants who attacked the Giants fan at Dodgers Stadium. STORY HIGHLIGHTSLos Angeles mayor calls two Dodger fans' attack on Giants fan "despicable"Giants fan Bryan Stow is hospitalized with brain damageAssault occured last week after season opener at Dodgers Stadium RELATED TOPICSMajor League BaseballLos Angeles DodgersSan Francisco GiantsRead more about this story from CNN affiliate KPIX.

Los Angeles (CNN) -- Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa made an emotional plea Friday asking the two men suspected in the recent brutal beating of a visiting San Francisco Giants fan after a Dodgers game to "turn themselves in."

"What you did was wrong, it was despicable and senseless, unprovoked, but make it a little better by coming forward," Villaraigosa said during a press conference.

At the same event, Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck announced a series of security measures to restore the public's sense of safety at the stadium, including sophisticated cameras designed to read license plates and monitor the sprawling parking lot.

Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt, after facing recent public criticism for his initial public silence to safety concerns, also assured fans Friday that many security mechanisms will be in place for next week's home series against the St. Louis Cardinals. He added he would pay for the increased staffing and additional security but declined to state the cost.

The press conference was prompted by questions about how two men, whose ages are believed to be in the range of 18 to 25, attacked 41-year-old Bryan Stow in the Dodgers Stadium parking lot after the season opener against the Giants on March 31. Stow, a Giants fan and a paramedic who traveled from Santa Cruz, California, to make his first-ever visit to Dodgers Stadium, remains hospitalized with brain damage.

Stow was still in critical condition under a medically induced coma Friday afternoon in Los Angeles County-University of Southern California Medical Center, spokesman Frank Toscano said.

City officials said they were rolling out "a new zero-tolerance policy on stadium violence and strict fan code of conduct," and police will assist in enforcing a "no tailgating" policy in the stadium parking lots and surrounding areas before, during and after baseball games.

McCourt shared the chorus of concern.

"I've heard the fans and citizens of this community. They are uncomfortable with the behavior of some at Dodgers stadium. I want to say I hear you loudly and clearly," McCourt told reporters.

"I am appalled at the criminal behavior of these two individuals and as a steward of the Dodgers I want to make that very completely clear these two individuals are not true Dodgers fans -- they are common criminals," McCourt added.

The most visible safety measure will be a significant increase in the presence of uniformed police officers patrolling the stadium during games, Beck said.

"When you go into Dodger stadium you are going to meet a Los Angeles police officer. When you leave Dodgers Stadium, you will bid farewell to a Los Angeles police officer," Beck said.

Authorities have said Stow was attacked in the presence of about 100 fans while leaving the stadium parking lot. Authorities are asking for any of those 100 fans to come forward with information. The two suspected assailants fled after the beating in a light-colored, four-door car driven by a woman with a young boy inside, authorities said.

Beck even warned season ticket holders that if they committed any violent acts, their tickets could be revoked for the rest of the season.

"If you come there to intimidate, antagonize either other fans or fans of other teams, you are going to do one of two things: you will be leaving Dodger Stadium or going to jail," the police chief said.

A $100,000 reward has been issued for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the suspects, officials said. Authorities said the two suspects, both believed to be Hispanic, wore thin mustaches. One had numerous tattoos on his neck and the other had a goatee, authorities said.

An eyewitness to the beating, Joe Lagano, told HLN's Prime News on Friday that he helped break up the attack. He said he felt "sick to my stomach" when he saw the assailants kicking Stow's head.

"I was so close that I actually heard the punch to Bryan's head, and it was loud. I mean it was solid. At that point, my eyes focused in on him and that's when he went down -- stiff like a log. He didn't crumble down. He went straight back, hit his head on the pavement," said Lagano, who attended the game with his wife and family.

"He just kept going at him," Lagano added. "I couldn't stand there and watch."

"To me, he seemed pretty drunk," Lagano said of one of the attackers. "My goal was just to get them away."

He and others challenged the assailants, questioned what they were doing, and told them to stop, Lagano said. "I guess we did stop it," he said.

During the game, Stow sent a text message to his cousin's wife in which "he basically said he was scared inside the stadium," his cousin John Stow has said.

CNN's Dana Ford contributed to this report.

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AP: Sept. 11 suspects to face military trials

AFP/Getty Images, 2010

Camp Delta guard tower at the U.S. detention center in Guantanamo Bay. Military tribunals will try some 9/11 suspects, it was announced.

EnlargeCloseAFP/Getty Images, 2010

Camp Delta guard tower at the U.S. detention center in Guantanamo Bay. Military tribunals will try some 9/11 suspects, it was announced.

The decision by the Obama administration is an about-face from earlier plans to have the five go on trial in civilian federal court in New York, which created intense political opposition among Republicans and even some Democrats, particularly in New York.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity about the switch, which Attorney General Eric Holder was expected to announce at an afternoon news conference.

Republican critics have roundly assailed the administration, first for the decision in late 2009 to try the men in New York City, then for a long delay in making a decision on whether to have them face military commission justice instead.

The four alleged co-conspirators are Waleed bin Attash, a Yemeni who allegedly ran an al-Qaeda training camp in Afghanistan; Ramzi Binalshibh, a Yemeni who allegedly helped find flight schools for the hijackers; Ali Abd al-Aziz Ali, accused of helping nine of the hijackers travel to the United States and sent them $120,000 for expenses and flight training, and Mustafa Ahmad al-Hawsawi, a Saudi accused of helping the hijackers with money, Western clothing, traveler's checks and credit cards.

Mohammed allegedly proposed the concept for the Sept. 11 attacks to Osama bin Laden as early as 1996, obtained funding for the attacks from bin Laden, oversaw the operation and trained the hijackers in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Mohammed was born in Pakistan's Baluchistan province and raised in Kuwait.

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