AKIPRESS.COM - The trial of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev accused of bombing the Boston Marathon two years ago has begun Thursday, with his defence lawyer telling the jury he committed the crime.

"It was him," the lawyer said as she prepared to defend Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's actions by saying he had been influenced by his older brother, reports BBC.

Mr Tsarnaev, 21, could face the death penalty and is charged with more than 30 counts relating to the bombings.

It was the deadliest terror attack on US soil since 9/11.

Three people, including an eight-year-old boy, were killed after two pressure cooker bombs packed with nails, ball bearings and other shrapnel detonated in April 2013. More than 260 people were injured, with many losing limbs.

In 2013, Mr Tsarnaev pleaded not guilty to all charges, including one related to the killing of a police officer in the days after the bombing.

Early in the day, Mr Tsarnaev's lawyer, Judy Clarke, stunned the court when she began her opening remarks by saying: "It was him."

The admission marks the beginning of the defence team's strategy, which is to place blame for the bombings on the defendant's older brother Tamerlan, who was killed by police.

"The evidence will not establish and we will not argue that Tamerlan put a gun to Dzhokhar's head or that he forced him to join in the plan," Ms Clark told the court, "but you will hear evidence about the kind of influence that his older brother had."