A parcel bomb exploded in Genoa today, puncturing a huge security operation set up to prepare the city for the arrival of some of the world's most powerful leaders for the Group of Eight (G8) summit this week.
The blast injured the hands and face of an officer who opened a package at about 10:30 a.m. (8:30 Irish time) at a station in the Fruttuoso area of the city.
"The package-bomb was handed to the police station by a messenger. The parcel was taken into an office where a policeman opened it and it exploded," a police spokesman said.
The police officer, in his mid-20s, was operated on for burns and surgeons were trying to save one of his eyes which was damaged by the explosion.
The security scare will heighten tensions ahead of this Friday's G8 annual summit between leaders from the US, Russia, Japan, Germany, France, Britain, Italy and Canada.
Authorities are preparing to deal with an expected 120,000 anti-globalisation demonstrators from hundreds of protest groups, including environmentalists, debt cancellation campaigners and human rights activists.
AFP