Chile official says subway blast apparently a ‘terrorist act’

A bomb exploded in a Santiago subway station Monday, injuring at least 10 people in what Chilean security authorities said appeared to be a “terrorist act.”

It was at least the 30th blast in Chile this year in which authorities suspected anarchists and extremists.

The explosion “has all the characteristics of a terrorist act that has been carried out to cause harm to innocent persons,” said government spokesman Alvaro Elizalde.

Elizalde said authorities were preparing to reinstate anti-terrorism laws enacted during the 1973-90 dictatorship of Gen. Augusto Pinochet that allow authorities more latitude in detaining and interrogating suspects.

As of late Monday, no individual or group had claimed responsibility for the bombing at the Escuela Militar station in the affluent Las Condes neighborhood. The explosion is the second attack on Santiago’s subway system in less than two months.

Police said the device consisted of a fire extinguisher filled with explosive powder, which was left in a metal trash container near vendor stalls in the subway.

On Aug. 20, the U.S. State Department’s Overseas Security Advisory Council issued a report expressing concern over the Chilean bombings, attributing them to “an uptick in anarchist activity.” The report noted that recent targets have included police stations, ATMs, two churches and a nursery school.

“For the most part, these devices have not been intended to inflict casualties, and no deaths have resulted,” the report said. “However, anarchists may be widening the scope of acceptable targets and may wish to harm civilians.”

The State Department document also theorized the bombings could be connected to the “incarceration of two Chilean expatriates charged in Spain for terrorist activities and their affiliation with the anarchist group Mateo Morral Commando.”

As Chilean police helicopters flew over the city, deputy Interior Minister Mahmud Aleuy told reporters at La Moneda presidential palace that a car in which the alleged bombers fled the scene had been identified. He said the suspects were described only as “two young people.”

Interior Minister Rodrigo Peñailillo said: “This is very serious. It requires the country to be strong and to impose the maximum possible penalties. We will invoke the anti-terrorism law and we will apply all the resources necessary.”

The explosion occurred three days before the anniversary of the September 1973 military coup that overthrew President Salvador Allende, although there was no established link between the bombings and the coup. The bombing occurred within walking distance of a Chilean military academy.

Poblete is a special correspondent. Special correspondent Chris Kraul in Bogota, Colombia, contributed to this report.