Chechen leader on Boston manhunt: Look for 'roots of evil' in America

Ramzan Kadyrov, the president of the Russian Republic of Chechnya, took to Instagram Thursday to disavow the two Tsarnaev brothers believed responsible for the Boston Marathon bombing. Though neither brother has been connected to any specific Chechen groups, family has said they are of Chechen descent.

"They grew up in the US, their views and beliefs were formed there. The roots of evil must be searched for in America," Kadyrov said in a caption to his Instagram photo.

Here's Kadyrov's full statement, as translated by Quartz via The Washington Post:

"The events that took place in Boston are tragic. People have been killed as a result of a terrorist act. Earlier we expressed our condolences to the residents of the city and to the American people. Today, according to media reports, during an arrest attempt a certain Tsarnaev was killed. It would have made sense to arrest him and carry out an investigation, clarify all the circumstances and his degree of guilt. Evidently, the security services needed a result at any price in order to calm the populace.

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Any attempts to link Chechnya and the Tsarnaevs, if indeed they are guilty, are futile. They grew up in the USA, their viewpoints and beliefs were formed there. You must look for the roots of [their] evil in America.

Terrorism must be fought everywhere. We know this better than anyone. We wish all the victims a [speedy] recovery and share in Americans’ grief. #terroristact #Boston #consequence"

As UPI reported earlier, bombing suspects Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev has put the spotlight back on a conflict that began in the 1990s.

Chechnya, a Muslim majority area in the North Caucasus, went from being part of a Soviet republic to a republic in the Russian Federation in the early 1990s. But the transition has not been peaceful, with Russia fighting two wars in Chechnya and Chechen nationalists carrying out terrorist attacks in Moscow as well as in their homeland.