Erstellt am: 16. 4. 2013 - 14:16 Uhr

The Boston Bombings

Reality Check: US authorities begin the investigation into Monday's explosions

EPA/ Stuart Cahill

President Obama didn’t use the word “terrorism”, but a White House official said "any event with multiple explosive devices - as this appears to be - is clearly an act of terror, and will be approached as an act of terror." Monday’s explosions at the Boston Marathon killed 3 people and wounded at least 140. The injuries range from cuts and bruises to amputations.

According to experts, the devices that caused the blasts were small. The global intellicence company Stratfor writes on its website that “the size of the device can be judged by the lack of structural damage to the buildings adjacent to the blast sites. There were also only a limited number of broken windows in the area. The smoke seen after detonation was consistent with the results of a low-velocity improvised explosive mixture, perhaps something like flash powder or a sugar chlorate mixture".

It's also possible to assess the characteristics of the devices from the kinds of injuries the victims sustained. Strafor writes "it is likely that the attackers packed the devices with nails or other improvised shrapnel.” This last point is echoed by reports that a number of the injured have had to have limbs amputated. One doctor is quoted as saying "Many of the victims were hit with "a lot of small, metal debris."

The attack was the worst bombing on American soil since Timothy McVeigh set off a massive truck bomb that destroyed the Federal Building in Oklahoma City in 1995, killing 168 people.

As the focus in Boston turns towards the investigation, there is inevitably going to be speculation about whether the explosions were the work of some foreign group or domestic perpetrators.

And any speculation will include the possible significance of the date. April 15th is “Patriots’ Day” a state holiday in Massachusetts and Maine. It commemorates the first battles in the American War of Independence in 1775.

April 15th is also Tax Day - the date by which Americans have to send to the tax authorities the forms needed to calculate income tax. Plenty of people have already suggested possible links, in spite of the fact that all the experts say it’s too early to say who is to blame for the Boston blasts.

Correspondent Simon Marks with an update on the investigation:

UN & Syria

The heads of five major UN agencies have issued a rare joint appeal to the international community to do much more to end the conflict in Syria. Analysis on the significance of the move from Shashank Joshi:

North Pole

Greenpeace activists have planted a flag at the North Pole to say that the Arctic landmark belongs to humanity and not simply to one country. Chris Cummins speaks to James Turner, who was part of the expedition:

The Horsemeat Scandal

The European Commission is publishing results of random tests for horse DNA in processed beef products across the EU. Sandra Gathmann reports from Brussels:

Artificial Kidneys

Scientists have grown a rat kidney in the lab. Andy Coghlan explains how they did it and what it means for human medicine in the future:

Listen to the programme after the show via Podcast or at fm4.orf.at/realitycheck.