Posted on 04/03/2003 3:37:45 PM PST by GATOR NAVY
Friday, April 4, 2003 at 00:09 JST YOKOHAMA — Multiple explosions were heard outside the U.S. Atsugi naval air station Thursday night in what the Japanese police suspect was a guerrilla attack by Japanese militants opposed to the Iraq war.
The explosions, which were reported at around 10:40 p.m., occurred in the neighborhood of the main gate of the base in Ayase, Kanagawa Prefecture, police officials said.
There were no reports of casualties or damage to properties.
One store owner outside the main gate of the base said he heard two quick explosions and described the blast as "something like fireworks." He said there was a burning smell when he went outside his store to check what happened.
Kanagawa prefectural police said they have received a report that steel pipe, apparently used for firing projectiles, was found in a wooded area 500 meters northwest of the U.S. naval base.
U.S. military facilities in Japan have been targets of guerrilla-type attacks in recent months from left-wing radicals firing home-made projectiles at U.S. bases.
On March 12, two metal projectiles were fired at the U.S. Yokota base in western Tokyo from a pair of steel-pipe launchers set off by a time device. No injuries or damages were reported.
Last November, Japanese militants fired two metal projectiles at the U.S. army camp in Zama, Kanagawa Prefecture. One projectile hit the roof of a home outside the base. (Kyodo News)
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