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Report: Feds call marathon bomb suspect 'lone wolf'

WASHINGTON, May 24 (UPI) -- Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev was a lone wolf who appeared to be radicalized before he traveled to Russia last year, investigators said.

Citing officials briefed on the investigation, ABC News reported Friday Tsarnaev -- who was killed three days after he and his brother allegedly carried out bomb attacks that killed three people and injured 270 others at the marathon finish line -- went to Dagestan intending to contact militants but did not join them.

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The investigation into Tsarnaev's background suggests he was mostly self-radicalized before he went to Dagestan but may have been further radicalized once there. He does not appear to have been affiliated with any international terror organization, such as al-Qaida, or controlled by anyone in Dagestan, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Investigators have not identified a contact in Dagestan or any specific motivation for the bomb attack, the report said.

Investigators learned Tsarnaev was close to Mahmud Mansur Nidal in Dagestan. Nidal joined a militant group, but there is no evidence Tsarnaev joined as well.

Nidal was subsequently killed by police.

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Tsarnaev's younger brother, Dzhokhar, was arrested April 19 in Watertown, Mass., the day after Tsarnaev was killed in a shootout with police.

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