EL SALVADOR-EXPLOSION El Salvadoran police investigate car explosion outside Finance Ministry

Record ID: 140073

  • Title: EL SALVADOR-EXPLOSION El Salvadoran police investigate car explosion outside Finance Ministry
  • Date: 11th September 2015
  • Summary: SAN SALVADOR, EL SALVADOR (SEPTEMBER 11, 2015) (REUTERS) CRIME SCENE ROPED OFF POLICE OFFICERS AT THE SCENE PIECES OF THE VEHICLE
  • Embargoed: 26th September 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: El Salvador
  • Country: El Salvador
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA7Q96BK978A6HRI3CY1KOQ5UQU
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: El Salvadoran police on Friday (September 11) said they were still investigating who was behind a car bomb explosion that rocked the area outside El Salvador's Finance Ministry earlier in the day.
    Nobody was injured in the explosion, which occurred in the early morning hours on Friday, and there was no significant damage to the building, according to a top security official.
    The bomb squad was called in to investigate the scene as police gathered what remained of the car used in the explosion.
    However, director of Police Mauricio Ramirez made it clear the vehicle itself was not the bomb, but rather an explosive had been placed inside the car.
    "What we had yesterday (early Friday) was the detonation of an explosive artefact that was placed inside a vehicle. By that I mean the vehicle did not explode. The artefact which was placed inside the car is what exploded. And that then blew out, as everyone saw, parts of the vehicle. Fortunately no persons were hurt at all," Ramirez said.
    He said police were investigating who was behind the blast and what type of explosive may have been placed in the car, which was stolen.
    "This group that is committing these kinds of acts, well, some of their members have been captured. Explosives were seized with them in addition to materials essential for making artefacts like fuses, blasting caps and other things. But the investigation needs to continue, without a doubt. The investigation must continue until we know who else is taking part in this," he said.
    Violence has risen steadily in El Salvador since a 2012 truce between the country's two main gangs, the Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) and its rival Barrio 18, began to fall apart last year.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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