Posted on 12/27/2003 1:29:26 PM PST by knak
ROME (Reuters) - A parcel bomb has exploded in the hands of EU Commission President Romano Prodi at his Bologna home on Saturday but he was not hurt, his spokesman says.
"A parcel bomb arrived at his home. Prodi opened it himself, carefully. It exploded, making a big flame. He was not hurt and there was no damage," Marco Vignudelli told Reuters by telephone on Saturday.
No one at Bologna police headquarters was immediately available for comment.
On December 22, two small home-made bombs exploded in rubbish bins near Prodi's home in the city in northern Italy. Prodi was not in his flat at the time.
No one was hurt in those explosions and there was no property damage. Explosives experts defused a third device placed in another nearby bin.
Bologna Police Chief Marcello Fulvio was quoted in several newspapers after those explosions as saying initial inquiries pointed towards anarchists who had targeted policemen guarding Prodi's home rather than the politician himself.
Several parcel bombs were sent to Italian police stations in October and one wounded a policeman in November when it blew up in his hands. Police have said they suspected anarchist groups in those attacks too.
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