Seventeen Injured in Explosion in Central Prague, AFP Reports

[psychopomp]

Bloomberg.com: Europe
Seventeen Injured in Explosion in Central Prague, AFP Reports

Aug. 1 (Bloomberg) -- Seventeen people were injured by an explosion in a shopping precinct in central Prague Sunday, Agence France-Presse reported, citing the city's emergency services.

The blast happened in the Na Prikope pedestrian shopping area just off Wenceslas Square, one of the Czech capital's busiest streets, shortly after 12:30 p.m. local time, AFP said.

Most of the wounded were hit by shrapnel or glass and all of them received only light injuries, AFP said, citing emergency services spokesman Marek Uhlir. One of the injured was a child, AFP said.

It wasn't immediately clear what caused the explosion.

(AFP 8-1)
< http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000085&sid=arYJibBPTWAw&refer=europe >

[psychopomp]

1. Police Suspect Grenade in Prague Blast; 16 Hurt

International News Article | Reuters.com
Police Suspect Grenade in Prague Blast; 16 Hurt
Sun Aug 1, 2004 08:24 AM ET


PRAGUE (Reuters) - A grenade thrown from a passing car may have been the cause of an explosion that injured at least 16 people in a crowded shopping area in the historic center of Prague Sunday, Czech authorities said.

A police officer on the scene, who asked not to be identified, said it appeared the blast was related to criminal activity and was not terror-related.

A police official said it appeared a grenade was thrown from a car on the pedestrian mall Na Prikope, just off of Wenceslas Square in the tourist district.

A fire department official said in a telephone interview that 16 or 17 people were reported injured. He did not give any further details.

The ex-communist Czech Republic, a country of around 10 million people, has been a member of NATO since 1999. It has sent around 90 troops to Iraq as part of the U.S.-led coalition there
< http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=5836555 >

[xchrom]

2. criminal?!?!

why would a criminal organization draw that kind of attention to itself?

[muriel_volestrangler]

4. rival mobster targetting a casino

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3525626.stm

Witnesses say a hand grenade was thrown outside a casino near Wenceslas Square at about 12.30 local time (1130GMT) on Sunday.
...
Czech Prime Minister Stanislav Gross toured the blast area. He said: "It is important to realise that this was a criminal act related to the underworld".

There is a lucrative trade in flying gamblers from Israel, where gambling is illegal, to casinos in eastern Europe and there have been clashes in the past between gangs fighting over the business.

In August 2002 an Israeli casino owner, Felix Abutbul, was shot dead in Prague.

[xchrom]

5. well -- that makes me feel a little better

but there seems to be an awful lot of chaos right now.
the planet needs a chill pill.

[lebkuchen]

3. How did a licensed car from New Jersey get into Prague??

Since it was a US car hit, how do they know it was a terrorist act? BTW, Wenceslas Square is THE tourist spot in Prague outside of the St. Charles Bridge. This is the height of tourist season there. The city is packed.

***********************************************************

An attacker threw the device under the car shortly after several people got into the vehicle, she said. The attack is being investigated as an attempted murder.

She refused to identify the car, but the CTK news agency said it was a white Jeep Cherokee with a license plate from the U.S. state of New Jersey.

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040801/ap_on_re_eu/czech_explosion_2