Paris Police Building Bombed : 1 Dead, 51 Hurt; Blast Comes as Security Tightens

A bomb exploded today in a crowded police headquarters room near Notre Dame Cathedral, killing one person and injuring 51 other employees and civilians in the fifth terrorist incident in Paris in 11 days.

A group demanding the release of three Arabs jailed in France, the Committee of Solidarity with Arab and Middle East Political Prisoners, claimed responsibility in a call to a news agency in Beirut.

The explosion came on the same day the French government began tightening border controls in an attempt to choke off terrorist attacks.

Lebanese Rounded Up

The bombing came after police rounded up 20 people of Lebanese descent in the bombing at a restaurant Sunday. A police officer was killed and two people were seriously injured in that blast.

After Sunday’s bombing, police reported hundreds of false bomb alerts across the city, at train and subway stations, airports, post offices, banks, and businesses.

Officials at Orly Airport said American Airlines Flight 041 was recalled several minutes after it left because of a bomb alert. The plane’s 98 passengers and crew got off the plane and it was being searched this afternoon.

Authorities said today’s bomb apparently had been in a bag left near a service window inside the crowded driver’s permit room on the ground floor of police headquarters in central Paris.

The blast ripped through the room at 1:50 p.m., sending glass and debris flying and prompting a stampede of panicked people from the building.

Police said one person was killed and 51 were injured. Two of the injured were in serious condition, and the others suffered from cuts and shock. The casualty toll included 31 employees and 21 customers. They were taken to six hospitals. Two women were among the seriously injured.

2nd Blast in 2 Days

It was the second bomb explosion in two days in Paris and fifth terrorist incident in 11 days, all of them in heavily populated public places. In all, two people have been killed and 112 wounded.

Police said the bomb, of about 4.4 pounds, was of the same type as previous bombings claimed by the Arab group seeking the release from French jails of Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, presumed leader of a Lebanese guerrilla group, and two other terrorists.

The Italian government in Rome filed a request to France today for Abdallah’s extradition to Italy, French officials said. The officials said they were studying the Italian request.