[LIVE BLOG, VIDEO & PHOTOS IN EXTENDED ARTICLE]

8:41PM EST: In the aftermath of the Boston Marathon explosions, counterterrorism officials have found what they believe to be five additional, undetonated explosive devices around the Boston area.

8:00PM EST: The Navy has sent one of its bomb-disposal units to Boston to assist local authorities as needed in the aftermath of the two explosions near the Boston Marathon’s finish line. The blasts killed two and injured more than 100.

The three-member explosive ordnance disposal team based at Naval Station Newport, R.I., was sent to Massachusetts after state officials asked for help. Authorities are investigating the bombings and also are checking other bags and packages that may have been left unattended as terrified crowds races away from the chaos Monday.

The Pentagon said no other active duty military personnel had yet been sent to the scene, although state National Guard troops were there. The Defense Department has not raised the threat level across the nation’s military installations.

6:50PM EST: Washington’s mayor said on Monday there was no information about any specific threat against targets in the U.S. capital after deadly explosions during the Boston marathon.

“We have been monitoring the situation in Boston and any possible consequences for the District since shortly after this tragic incident occurred,” Mayor Vincent Gray said in a statement. “While at this time there is no information regarding any specific credible threat against targets in our region, we have plans in place to address these types of incidents.”

6:46PM EST: The White House does not yet know who planned and carried out explosions at the Boston marathon but is handling the incident as “an act of terror,” a White House official said on Monday.

“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,” the official said.

“However, we don’t yet know who carried out this attack, and a thorough investigation will have to determine whether it was planned and carried out by a terrorist group, foreign or domestic,” the official said.

6:08PM EST: Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis said on Monday that “powerful devices” caused the two blasts at the finish line of the Boston Marathon and noted that police did not have any suspects in custody at this time.

“We are questioning many people but there is no suspect in custody,” Davis said. He also noted that a fire at the John F. Kennedy Library, which he described as caused by an “incendiary device”, may not have been linked to the marathon incident, which left two dead. (

5:50PM EST: President Barack Obama will deliver a statement on the explosions in Boston at 6:10 P.M. EDT (2210 GMT) on Monday, the White House said.

5:32PM EST: The Federal Aviation Administration is warning pilots that it has created a no-fly zone over the site of two explosions at the annual Boston marathon.

The agency said in a notice issued Monday about an hour after the explosions that a no-fly zone with a 3.5-mile radius has been created over 811 Boylston Street. The zone is limited to flights under 3,000 feet in altitude, which is lower than most airliners would fly except when taking off or landing.

The notice says the no-fly zone is effective immediately, and will remain in effect until further notice. Pilots planning flights were urged to call their local flight service station.

YWN PHOTO LINK:  Initial photos can be see HERE.

5:30PM EST: More than 100 people were treated at area hospitals after explosions following the BostonMarathon on Monday, the Boston Globe reported on Twitter.

It was unclear what source provided the information that was reported on the Globe’s Twitter feed. Reuters could not independently verify that at least 100 people had been injured.

4:15PM EST: At least three people are dead and dozens injured – including up to 10 with amputated limbs – after two explosions rocked the area near the finish line of the Boston Marathon.

The simultaneous explosions, and reports of at least one other unexploded device found near the scene – raised suspicions that the explosions, just before 3 p.m., could be terrorist attacks. Competitors and race organizers were crying as they fled the bloody chaos, while some witnesses reported seeing victims with lost limbs.

Two explosions shattered the finish of the Boston Marathon on Monday, sending authorities out on the course to carry away the injured while stragglers in the 26.2-mile race were rerouted away from the smoking site.

Competitors and race volunteers were crying as they fled the chaos. Bloody spectators were being carried to the medical tent that had been set up to care for fatigued runners.

“There are a lot of people down,” said one man, whose bib No. 17528 identified him as Frank Deruyter of North Carolina. He was not injured, but marathon workers were carrying one woman, who did not appear to be a runner, to the medical area as blood gushed from her leg. A Boston police officer was wheeled from the course with a leg injury that was bleeding.

Neither race officials nor public officials could immediately estimate the number or degree of injuries.

About three hours after the winners crossed the line, there was a loud explosion on the north side of Boylston Street, just before the photo bridge that marks the finish line. Another explosion could be heard a few seconds later.

Smoke rose from the blasts, fluttering through the national flags lining the route of the world’s oldest and most prestigious marathon. TV helicopter footage showed blood staining the pavement in the popular shopping and tourist area known as the Back Bay.

“There are people who are really, really bloody,” said Laura McLean, a runner from Toronto, who was in the medical tent being treated for dehydration when she was pulled out to make room for victims of the explosions. “They were pulling them into the medical tent.”

Cherie Falgoust was waiting for her husband, who was running the race.

“I was expecting my husband any minute,” she said. “I don’t know what this building is … it just blew. Just a big bomb, a loud boom, and then glass everywhere. Something hit my head. I don’t know what it was. I just ducked.”
Runners who had not finished the race were diverted straight down Commonwealth Avenue and into a family meeting area, according to an emergency plan that had been in place.

(AP)