WASHINGTON (AP) - The CIA added the name of the dead Boston Marathon bombing suspect to a U.S. government terrorist database 18 months before the deadly explosions, U.S. officials told The Associated Press on Wednesday.
The CIA's request came about six months after the FBI investigated Tamerlan Tsarnaev, also at the Russian government's request, but the FBI found no ties to terrorism, officials said.
The new disclosure was significant because officials have said the U.S. had no information leading up to the April 15 bombings. That one of the bomber's name was in a terrorism database for 18 months before the attack was expected to drive congressional inquiries about whether the U.S. government adequately investigated tips.
In late September 2011, the CIA received information from the Russian government about Tsarnaev. In March 2011, the FBI received nearly identical information as the CIA.
The massive database, known as the Terrorist Identities Datamart Environment, is managed by the National Counterterrorism Center and feeds into terror watch lists like the one that bans known or suspected terrorists from getting on airplanes.