Terrorist Claims Doubted in Paris Blasts

Authorities on Sunday discounted claims that a Palestinian or other terrorist group was responsible for bombings at two Paris department stores that left 39 people injured, saying the blasts were probably isolated incidents carried out by a maniac.

Police and fire investigators said the crudeness of the bombs--gasoline cans with incendiary devices inside--led them to believe the bomber or bombers were trying to create havoc but were not members of a terrorist group.

The investigators said they were not taking seriously claims of responsibility by the Palestine Liberation Front, the Secret Armenian Army for the Liberation of Armenia and the Mideast terror group, Islamic Jihad.

None of the terrorist claims, telephoned to news organizations, carried any proof of responsibility for the bombings, and none of them preceded the explosions, authorities noted. In Baghdad, an official of the Palestinian group said the organization had “no relation at all” to the bombings that struck the stores, crowded with Christmas shoppers Saturday afternoon. The front’s leader, Abul Abbas, has been accused by the United States of masterminding the hijacking of the Achille Lauro cruise ship.

Authorities said that organized terrorist groups normally use powerful explosives in their bombs, not rudimentary material like that involved in Saturday’s blasts. As a result, police said, investigators are leaning toward the possibility that demented individuals were responsible. However, no motive was indicated.

Informed sources said Sunday that initial laboratory tests of fragments found at the scenes of the blasts indicated that cans containing gasoline or another flammable liquid caused the explosions. The sources, asking not to be identified, said a weak fuse with a crude timing device, possibly an alarm clock, would have been attached to the cans.

Dr. Francis Roy, who headed the rescue effort, said 25 people were treated and released after the blasts, and 14 remained hospitalized Sunday, all but two of them seriously burned.

The two bombs exploded two minutes apart and tore through the wedding department one floor underground of the Galeries Lafayette and the women’s handbag section on the first floor of the nearby Printemps store.

Created Chaos

The explosions sent panicked customers fleeing into the streets, creating chaos for firefighters and police trying to reach the scene.

Employees at Printemps said the store received an anonymous call that “something was going to happen” and were able to clear the area minutes before the blast, minimizing the number of injured. Galeries Lafayette workers reported no such call, and most of the injuries were reported at that store.