NATION IN BRIEF : WASHINGTON, D.C. : New Report Emerges on Iowa Explosion

Navy experts say a chemical bomb placed between gunpowder bags caused the explosion that blew up a gun turret and killed 47 sailors aboard the battleship Iowa, according to a newspaper report. The Navy study concluded that a container of fuel, such as hydraulic fluid, in a bag with an oxidizer was the cause of the blast last April, the Washington Post said. The new report says that Clayton M. Hartwig, a gunner’s mate second class, may have spread the oxidizer, a cleaning powder, on steel wool and put the fuel in a plastic vial, the newspaper said. The findings were given to congressional investigators, the newspaper said.