US News

FBI recovers accused Boston bomber’s laptop: report

The FBI has recovered accused Boston bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s laptop, according to new reports.

Dias Kadyrbayev’s attorney Robert Stahl told NBC News that the feds have the machine but did not elaborate as to where or when it was recovered.

Kadyrbayev and a second pal, Azamat Tazhayakov, were charged yesterday with helping Tsarnaev cover up his role in the April 15 attack. A third, Robel Phillipos, was charged with lying to the feds about the alleged conspiracy. All four men are 19.

Last week Kadyrbayev, driving to the New Bedford, Mass., apartment he shares with Tazhayakov, got a call from a panicked Phillipos, saying a suspect in newly released surveillance footage looked familiar.

The three college friends went to Tsarnaev’s UMass-Dartmouth dorm to see if the news was true, Phillipos claimed, according to the affidavit, but the bomber’s roommate told them that he had left hours earlier.

They hung around and watched a movie — then noticed a backpack that held spent fireworks, Kadyrbayev said.

“[He] knew when he saw the empty fireworks that Tsarnaev was involved in the marathon bombing,” the affidavit says. “[He] decided to remove the backpack from the room in order to help his friend Tsarnaev avoid trouble.”

He also grabbed the terrorist’s laptop, and a jar of Vaseline he believed was used to make the bombs.

The trio took the items back to Kadyrbayev and Tazhayakov’s pad and watched the manhunt on TV, debating over what to do with the bag.

“Once at the apartment . . . [we] . . . started to freak out, because it became clear from a CNN report that we were watching that Jahar was one of the Boston Marathon bombers,” Phillipos said, using Dzhokhar’s nickname.

Tazhayakov and Kadyrbayev decided to toss the bag, authorities said. It was found in a landfill.

Meanwhile, Kazakhstan’s Foreign Ministry says it is cooperating with the United States after arrests of Kadyrbayev and Tazhayakov

On Thursday, the Kazakh foreign ministry issued a statement saying “Both Kadyrbayev and Tazhayakov are cooperating with the investigative bodies and providing them assistance.”

“As we have repeatedly stressed, Kazakhstan strongly condemns any form of terrorism. The Kazakhstan side is cooperating with the US law enforcement bodies in their investigation,” the ministry said.