'Under fire' Rolling Stone magazine defends 'controversial' Boston bomber cover

Rolling Stone magazine has defended featuring Boston bomb suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev on the cover of its latest issue.

The cover photo of Tsarnaev prompted uproar for glamourising terrorism.

The magazine defended its cover page, saying a profile of Tsarnaev was best suited for its commitment to serious and thoughtful coverage of the most important political and cultural issues of day.

It added that many of its readers are in the same age group as the bombing suspect, and it was important for the publication to explore the issue.

In a statement on the top of the story, the magazine's editors said their ‘hearts go out to the victims of the Boston Marathon bombing’.

According to the BBC, the mayor of Boston, Thomas Menino, said the magazine’s cover ‘rewards a terrorist with celebrity treatment’.

A number of US retail chains have announced they will not stock the edition.

Janet Reitman, Rolling Stone's contributing editor, spent two months interviewing Tsarnaev's friends and family for the forthcoming issue's article, the report said.