[Updated] Map of Past Attacks with Pressure-Cooker Bombs

Updated at 1:12 am EST on Friday, April 19 to include breakdown by continent and network graph.

Reports today suggest that the horrific attack on the Boston Marathon was carried out using a pair of pressure-cooker bombs. While police scour video and photos for clues (the FBI is seeking any available content), we mapped reported use of this type of weapon during the past three years to serve as a resource for anyone investigating the bombings:

Update – Pressure Cookers in Asia

Pressure cooker bombs have been more commonly seen in Indian and Southeast Asian attacks than anywhere else. Recent reports out of India also suggest that the weapon has become a “fad” in militant camps along the Afghanistan/Pakistan border. In contrast, discounting thwarted attacks such as the attempted attack on Times Square in 2010, the United States has experienced just one bombing with a pressure cooker, and that was back in 1976. There’s also little to see in Europe during the last several years.

We can also take the same data set and visualize any connections between people and organizations previously involved in the user of pressure cooker bombs across Asia. The two views bookending this paragraph provide a clear indication: pressure cooker bombs are relatively rare with the exception of Southeast Asia, which makes for an interesting strand to follow when piecing together background on the two recently identified suspects

Like so many organizations in the Boston community and elsewhere, we had employees, friends, and family in the area during the attack. You can send any tips to the FBI. Our thoughts are with all of those affected, and please let us know in the comments if there are other aspects of the media that we should further analyze.