US, Russia may cooperate in Boston probe: Kremlin

Moscow, April 20 (IANS/RIA Novosti) The US and Russia might join efforts in the investigation into the Boston Marathon bombings if the suspects' ties to Russia are confirmed, the Kremlin's spokesman said Saturday.

President Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia has not yet received an official confirmation of the identities of two suspects with reported family roots in Russia's volatile North Caucasus, but signalled that Russia was open for cooperation with the US in the case.

"As all the circumstances and details get cleared, I think, our intelligence agencies will be in conctact" over the case, Peskov told Rossia 24 state TV channel.

On Friday, US President Barack Obama thanked Putin for his condolences, and praised the close cooperation that the US has received from Russia on counter-terrorism, including in the wake of the Boston attack that killed at least three people.

Earlier, Putin had offered Russia's assistance in the investigation.

The only remaining suspect in the bombings, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, was taken into custody late Friday after a massive manhunt which followed a shootout with police Thursday night in which his brother, 26-year-old Tamerlan, was killed.

Interpol has issued an international security alert detailing the features of the improvised explosive devices used in the Boston marathon bombings to assist law enforcement across its member countries detect any similarly configured bombs.

--IANS/RIA Novosti

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