The explosives that killed three and wounded more than 170 at the Boston Marathon were made of pressure cookers packed with metal and ball bearings, a person briefed on the investigation said Tuesday.
US President Barack Obama said it was unclear whether the bombings were carried
Obama, speaking to reporters at the White House, said authorities still don't know who is responsible and officials said no one had claimed responsibility.
He called the bombing "a heinous and cowardly act" used to target innocent civilians.
The chief FBI agent in Boston vowed "we will go to the ends of the Earth" to find whoever carried out the deadly attack on one of the city's most famous civic holidays, Patriots Day.
A person briefed on the attack, which left the streets splattered with blood and glass, said the explosives were in 6-liter pressure cookers and placed in black duffel bags that were placed on the ground.
The person said the duffel bags contained shards of metal, nails and ball bearings. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the investigation was ongoing.
These types of pressure cooker explosives have been used in Afghanistan, India, Nepal and Pakistan, according to a July 2010 joint FBI and Homeland Security intelligence report.
One of the three devices used in the May 2010 Times Square attempted bombing was a pressure cooker, the intelligence report said.
"Placed carefully, such devices provide little or no indication of an impending attack," the report said.
The Pakistani Taliban have denied any role in the bombings at the Boston Marathon that killed at least three people and injured more than 140.
The group's spokesman, Ahsanullah Ahsan, denied involvement in a telephone call with The Associated Press on Tuesday. He spoke from an undisclosed location.
The main focus of the Pakistani Taliban has been a bloody insurgency against the Pakistani government because of its alliance with the United States and to enforce Islamic law in the country.
But the group has threatened attacks in the US as well, and claimed responsibility for a failed car bombing in New York's Times Square in 2010.
The Times Square attacker, Faisal Shahzad, has admitted to getting training from the Pakistani Taliban in the country's tribal region.
Still image taken from video courtesy of NBC shows an explosion at the Boston Marathon. Reuters
Richard DesLauriers, FBI agent in charge in Boston, said earlier that investigators had received "voluminous tips" and were interviewing witnesses and were analyzing the crime scene.
A European security official said Tuesday initial evidence indicates that the attacks were not the work of suicide bombers.
"So far, investigators believe it was not the work of suicide bombers, but it is still too early to rule it out completely," said the official, who spoke from the United States on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak about the US investigation.
The fiery explosions took place about 10 seconds and about 100 yards (90 meters) apart, knocking spectators and at least one runner off their feet, shattering windows and sending dense plumes of smoke rising over the street and through the fluttering national flags lining the route.
Blood stained the pavement, and huge shards were missing from window panes as high as three stories. Victims suffered broken bones, shrapnel wounds and ruptured eardrums.
Defense secretary Chuck Hagel called the bombing a "cruel act of terror."
He said that any event with explosive devices is clearly an act of terror and he promised that a thorough investigation will determine whether the perpetrators were foreign or domestic.
The Pentagon chief vowed that those responsible will be brought to justice.
Massachusetts Gov Deval Patrick said Tuesday no unexploded bombs were found at the marathon site. He said the only explosives were the ones that went off Monday.
Boston police and firefighter unions announced a $50,000 reward for information leading to arrests in the bombing.
Roupen Bastajian, a state trooper from Smithfield, Rhode Island, had just finished the race when he heard the explosions.
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