Homeland Security Denies Saudi Arabia Warned U.S. About Boston Bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev In 2012

The Department Homeland Security denies that Saudi Arabia issued a warning about Boston bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev in 2012.

The department released a statement Wednesday in the wake of a Daily Mail report that cites an unnamed, "senior Saudi government official" who claims that the country sent a written warning about Tsarnaev and a planned explosive attack in "a major U.S. city."

The department's email states:

"DHS has no knowledge of any communication from the Saudi government regarding information on the suspects in the Boston Marathon Bombing prior to the attack."

The unnamed Saudi official in the Daily Mail report claims that the warning letter specifically named Tamerlan Tsarnaev, who was killed during a shootout with officers days after the Boston Marathon bombing. The Daily Mail also cites an unnamed Homeland Security official as confirming that the letter exists.

The supposed letter was also reportedly sent to British authorities, and allegedly named three Pakistanis who would be of interest to the United Kingdom. More details on that apparent correspondance weren't available, though a Daily Mail reporter labeled them "potential jihadis."

Many details about the letter remain unclear. The Saudi official said it hadn't fully developed the intelligence on Tsarnaev, gathered in Yemen. It was reportedly sent to DHS via the Saudi Ministry of Interior and suggested that U.S. authorities inspect all packages that came to Tsarnaev in the mail.

The White House also denied that any U.S. government agency received the Saudi correspondence.

"We and other relevant U.S. government agencies have no record of such a letter being received," Caitlin Hayden, the president's National Security Council spokeswoman, told the Daily Mail.

Calls by HuffPost Crime to the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia and the FBI were not immediately returned.

The report comes days after the revelation that Russian authorities had secretly recorded a telephone conversation in 2011, when Tamerlan Tsarnaev reportedly discussed jihad with his mother, Zubeidat Tsarnaeva. Had the wiretap been made available earlier, the FBI may have had enough evidence to thoroughly investigate the family.

Tamerlan's younger brother, 19-year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, was arrested several days after the attack and charged with using a weapon of mass destruction.