Letter bomb explodes at EU parliament

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - A letter bomb sent to the head of the largest political group in the European Parliament has exploded but hurt nobody, says a spokesman for the European People's Party.

The letter was sent to German Christian Democrat Hans-Gert Poettering and opened by an employee.

"It caught fire, there was a bang. Nobody was hurt," Robert Fitzhenry told Reuters.

A series of letterbombs have been sent to European officials in recent days. Investigators are looking at the possibility Italian anarchists are behind the mailings.

Rank	Location	Receipts	Donors/Avg	Freepers/Avg	Monthlies
41	Delaware	50.00	1	50.00	23	2.17

Fifth Letter Bomb Targets EU Official
2 hours, 4 minutes ago

By RAF CASERT, Associated Press Writer

BRUSSELS, Belgium - A letter bomb addressed to a senior member of the European Parliament burst into flames Monday, the fifth mail attack in two weeks on European Union targets. Authorities also intercepted a suspicious package to another Parliament member.

The package bomb sent to Hans-Gert Poettering, a German conservative in Parliament, exploded as a member of his staff opened it, but she was not injured.

Investigators have zeroed in on an Italian anarchist group — the "Informal Anarchic Federation" — as the likely source of wave of package bombs sent to offices in four countries. Security has been hiked up at European Union institutions.

The other bombs have been sent to European Commission President Romano Prodi in Bologna, Italy; the head of the European Central Bank in Frankfurt, Germany; and two institutions in The Hague, Netherlands.

Along with the package sent to Poettering, postmarked Dec. 22 from Bologna, a second suspect package was sent to Jose Ignacio Salafranca, head of the Spanish conservatives in the parliament.

"It was identical in every respect — the same size, posted on the same day and from the same place," said David Harley, a spokesman for European Parliament President Pat Cox.

It was being investigated by bomb disposal experts.

The padded envelope sent to Poettering — head of the conservative European People's Party, the largest faction in the European Parliament — appeared to contain a book, much like the one that blew up at Prodi's home on Dec. 27 at the start of the bombing wave.

It burst into flames when a staffer in Poettering's office opened it Monday morning.

"Luckily she was not injured," said party spokeswoman Fiona Kearns. Poettering was on his way to Brussels from Germany when the attack happened.

Outside the Parliament's buildings, three firefighter trucks and bomb disposal squads were parked outside the legislature in central Brussels and plainclothes policemen were seen moving inside carrying metal boxes.

European officials focused suspicion on the anarchist group after it claimed responsibility for two time bombs that exploded outside Prodi's house on Dec. 21, causing a small fire.

In a letter to left-leaning Italian daily newspaper La Repubblica on Dec. 23, the anarchist group said it had planted the bombs to "hit at the apparatus of control that is repressive and leading the democratic show that is the new European order."

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.