SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — A bomb exploded in a Chilean subway station on Monday, injuring at least seven people, the most damaging in a string of bombs planted around the country’s capital this year.
Fire Department Commander Ivo Zuvic Garcia said the injuries were caused by fragments in a container that was located in front of a food stall at the Escuela Militar subway stop.
Among those hurt in the 2 p.m. (1700 GMT) blast was a cleaning woman who lost fingers on one hand, said Dr. Fernando Zapata of the government’s emergency medical service. He said nine were hurt, but other officials put the figure at seven.
At least 28 bombs have been found across Santiago so far this year — most planted late at night — though some have not exploded and none of the others caused any injuries. In many cases, anarchist groups have claimed responsibility, demanding freedom for two anarchists imprisoned in Spain. No one had claimed responsibility for Monday’s attack.
Government spokesman Alvaro Elizalde said the bombing “has all the characteristics if a terrorist act that has been carried out to cause harm to innocent persons,” and he said the government would invoke an anti-terror law left over from the dictatorship of the 1973-90 dictatorship. It allows lengthy periods of pre-trial detention, longer sentences, interception of communications and masked witnesses.
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