Blast Injures Top Expert on Terrorism : West Germany: The Red Army Faction claims responsibility for bombing the car of a law enforcement official. He was not seriously hurt.

A roadside bomb blast triggered by a beam of light injured West Germany’s top terrorism expert today, and the Red Army Faction terrorist group claimed responsibility.

Hans Neusel, the state secretary of the Interior Ministry, escaped with only minor injuries, although his car was wrecked.

Neusel, whose ministry is in charge of law enforcement, was taken to a hospital but released a short time later and returned to the scene of the bombing, a highway on the outskirts of Bonn.

He later told reporters he was happy to be alive.

Today’s bombing was the first Red Army Faction attack since eight long-sought fugitives--reputed to be top members of the group--were captured in East Germany in recent weeks.

The Red Army Faction has been responsible for a series of killings and bomb attacks in West Germany in the last two decades.

The eight reputed members of the group captured in East Germany had been living there under assumed names, some for as long as 10 years. Some said they had been granted sanctuary by East Germany’s former Communist government.

West German officials had believed the roundup had put a serious dent in the group’s ability to carry out attacks.

Today’s explosion demolished Neusel’s silver BMW sedan, shattering the windows, ripping apart the interior, smashing its doors and tearing open the hood and the trunk lid. The blast blew a large hole in the highway and damaged the guardrail.

Officials said Neusel, who was driving the vehicle, probably escaped serious injury because the bomb went off on the car’s passenger side. He suffered only minor cuts.

The Interior Ministry said the 62-year-old official had no security detail, and his car was not equipped with any protective equipment such as armor plating or bulletproof glass. West German television said Neusel’s driver was on vacation.

Police said a letter claiming responsibility in the name of the Red Army Faction was found near the site of the attack and that it appeared to be genuine.