Italian police were last night assessing claims from a little-known organisation that it was responsible for a bomb explosion in central Rome in the early hours of yesterday morning. The group calls itself the Nucleus for Proletarian and Revolutionary Initiatives.
The bomb, which was detonated outside a building housing two non-government organisations, the Institute for Foreign Affairs and the Council for Italo-US Relations, injured no one and caused only minor damage. E-mails claiming responsibility were sent to the Rome offices of four leading daily newspapers. According to one source in the office of La Stampa newspaper, the e-mail contained a lengthy treatise which not only laid claim to yesterday's attack but also offered a left-wing analysis of post-war Italian history.
Although the group is a new name in the list of subversive movements, media commentators speculated last night that the name might be a cover for the New Red Brigades, who have been involved in sporadic terrorist action in recent years, and may be linked to the general election on May 13th.
The Rome attack occurred on the same night that an unexploded bomb was found in front of the offices of Fiat in Turin. The Prime Minister, Mr Giuliano Amato, ruled out a connection between the two incidents.