Russian security officials secretly recorded phone conversations two years ago in which Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev discussed jihad with his mother, the Associated Press reported Saturday:

In the past week, Russian authorities turned over to the United States information it had on Tamerlan and his mother, Zubeidat Tsarnaeva. The Tsarnaevs are ethnic Chechens who emigrated from southern Russia …
In early 2011, the Russian FSB internal security service intercepted a conversation between Tamerlan and his mother vaguely discussing jihad, according to U.S. officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the investigation with reporters.
The two discussed the possibility of Tamerlan going to Palestine, but he told his mother he didn’t speak the language there, according to the officials, who reviewed the information Russia shared with the U.S.
In a second call, Zubeidat Tsarnaeva spoke with a man in the Caucasus region of Russia who was under FBI investigation.

The FBI had previously said that Russian authorities had asked them to investigate Tamerlan Tsarnaev in 2011. However, the Russians reportedly did not share information about the recorded phone calls at that time.

Tamerlan Tsarnaev died in a shootout with police days after the April 15 bombings, which killed three people and injured more than 260. His younger brother, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, is charged with using a weapon of mass destruction.