Posted on 12/11/2003 3:14:34 AM PST by areafiftyone
A car exploded near a synagogue in the northern Italian city of Modena when the man inside set himself on fire, police said.
Police said it appeared the incident may have been a suicide, but authorities were still investigating.
"The man had shown uneasiness and problems relating to people in the past," a policeman in Modena said. "We think we're dealing with a suicide."
The man, who was from Jordan, set himself on fire. When police approached to put out the flames, the car, which ran on flammable liquid propane gas, exploded, police said.
No other injuries were reported, although the explosion blew out the windows of some buildings.
Police said the car was parked on a small, side street near one of the container walls that runs around the synagogue, about 50 to 80 metres from the main entrance.
Italy has stepped up security in recent weeks after a suicide bomber killed 19 Italians in southern Iraq last month.
Italy has sent troops to Iraq to help US-led stabilisation efforts there following the war to oust Saddam Hussein.
Home town of Luciano Pavarotti
Why can't these people put a gun in their mouths like any normal self-respecting suicidal maniac?
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