Bomb Injures 16 American Servicemen in Panama Bar

A bomb tossed through the window of a downtown discotheque wounded 16 American servicemen, one seriously, military and hospital officials said Saturday. Eleven Panamanians were also hurt.

It is believed to be the first such attack on U.S. servicemen since the United States invaded Panama on Dec. 20 and overthrew the government of Gen. Manuel A. Noriega.

Two victims of the blast quoted witnesses of the attack late Friday at the My Place nightclub as saying the attacker shouted “Viva Noriega!” just before throwing a bomb through the door and fleeing in a waiting car. Others said they did not hear the shout.

The attack came three days after U.S. military and civilian personnel were allowed to visit bars and nightclubs for the first time since the invasion.

The U.S. Southern Command said that no one had claimed responsibility for the blast and that there was no known motive.

Panama’s Judicial Technical Police, in charge of the investigation, gave no details, but an official said “it was against the gringos.”

But Lt. Col. Terry Jones, a Southern Command spokesman, said, “We don’t know what it was. They’re investigating that it’s possible it could have been a grenade.”

Panama has been largely free of anti-American incidents since the invasion. But the city has experienced an increase in violent crime, and the senior financial officer of the Panama Canal Commission was gunned down in his home Jan. 23 during a robbery.

In Washington, Defense Secretary Dick Cheney told Cable News Network that two grenades may have been thrown into the building from passing cars, but Jones said only one explosive was hurled.

The injuries apparently were caused by the explosion and by flying glass from broken windows, Jones said.

The wounded servicemen were taken to the U.S. military’s Gorgas Hospital. One was in serious condition, 13 were hospitalized in stable condition, and two were released by Saturday, he said.

Six of the 11 Panamanians wounded were treated and released at Panama City hospitals. One underwent surgery, and four were kept for observation. Most suffered wounds in the legs and feet, hospital records indicated.

The attack occurred hours after Noriega’s wife, three daughters and grandson left Panama for Havana. As they left Panama City, they were surrounded by hundreds of jeering people who shouted “Go away, beggars!”