Boston bombings suspect captured, brother killed

A Chechen-origin teenager suspected to be behind the deadly Boston bombings was today captured by the police here after a 24-hour drama that saw another suspect being killed and the city virtually shut.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, suspected to be behind the twin blasts at the Boston Marathon early this week was arrested after an exchange of gunfire with the police in which his accomplice brother was killed. He was captured from a boat, where he was hiding, authorities announced.

Dzhokhar, who was bleeding, was taken to a hospital and was in serious condition, the police said. Three people were killed and more than 180 others were injured when two bombs, inside pressure cooker, went off in quick succession on Monday amidst thousands of people near the finish line of the Boston Marathon.

The State police said Tsarnaev was hiding in the boat parker in the backyard of a house in Water Front neighbourhood of Boston. The police said they were first informed about the suspect from a resident of the area, who saw blood stains near the boat. "He opened the tarp and saw a man covered in blood," a police official said. The man retreated and alerted law enforcement officials. Dzhokhar was injured when the police shot dead his elder brother Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, outside the same neighbourhood.

Dzhokhar had managed to escape from there. "Captured!!! The hunt is over. The search is done. The terror is over. And justice has won. Suspect in custody," Boston police department said on Twitter after Dzhokar was arrested. The arrest was later celebrated by hundreds of people, who descended on to the streets of Boston chanting, "USA! USA!"

In his address to the nation, US President Barack Obama, hailed law enforcement officials for their bravery and hard work over the last five days. "We are extremely grateful," he said in his live address from the White House. "Whatever they (terrorists) thought they could achieve, they failed," because, "as Americans we refuse to be terrorised", Obama said.