Two explosions hit the Boston Marathon as runners crossed the finish line. Officials said three people were killed and 100 people were wounded as a result of Monday’s explosions.
President Barack Obama promised to hunt down whoever was responsible for the attack on a day when tens of thousands of spectators packed the streets to watch the world-famous race.
White House officials and investigators said it was too early to say whether the Boston attacks were carried out by a foreign or homegrown terror group or to identify a motive.
Alternative Stories to the Official Version of the Incident
In the social media and Western alternative media, lots of people are discussing other versions of the story. The most popular doubt raised about Monday’s incident says the explosions were in fact part of a drill by the Boston bomb squad.
“It’s now becoming clear that members of the Boston bomb squad had advance notice of the horrific bombings that took place at the marathon today. As an eyewitness reports, once the bombs went off, officials began announcing, ‘this is just a drill’,”an american blogger wrote in a piece.
Russia Today also posted a piece titled “’Neither liberty nor safety’: Has American freedom’s race been run at Boston Marathon?” and suggested this incident can be used as tool to bring more fear to american people and limiting their freedom.
What Iranians say About Boston Incident?
Iran’s Foreign Ministry has strongly condemned the Monday bomb blasts at the Boston Marathon.
“We believe all governments must try to maintain calm and security for everyone. Acts of extremism and terrorism have to be uprooted across the world and no effort should be made to justify violence,” the ministry’s spokesman, Ramin Mehmanparas said.
In the social media, Beside expressing regret and condemning the bombing incident in Boston, Iranian users on Facebook and Google Plus networks critiqued:
“It is really sad that people were killed in the Boston Marathon bombing but why does no one care when Iraqis are dying everyday in terrorist attacks? “ wrote Mohsen, an Iranian student in his Google plus profile.
“I recalled [American involvement in] Iraq and Afghanistan when I saw the sad photos of the Boston bombing.” another user posted in Facebook.
“In the footage of the explosion it is only smoke, no buildings are destroyed and it seems to be a weak explosion, nothing flew into the air. Casting some doubt on the magnitude of the official claims of destruction” Mahnaz wrote in in her Facebook page.
KhabarOnline, Iranian news site close to Ali Larijani, the speaker of Iran’s Majlis in an interview with a political analysts suggested “Involving internal extremists in the Boston bombings is the most plausible story. ” The incident happened on Patriot’s day and there are many extremists who could try to show their objection to US foreign policy.”
Raja News, the news website close to Paydari front, one of the Principalist’s political wings, asked in its post about the Boston bombing, “Are the Boston explosions another Sept 11?” Raja believes, contradictory statements published by the White House and local authorities, suggests that it was another controlled attack.
