Blast in shopping mall in Argentina

Buenos Aires, Sep 17 (IANS/EFE) A bomb went off Thursday at a shopping mall here in the Argentine capital, causing extensive damage to two airlines’ ticket offices, police said.

Leaflets found at the blast scene near the American Airlines and Alitalia offices bore the name of a Chilean group and included demands for the release of “political prisoners” and autonomy for the Mapuches, an indigenous community from Chile also present in some parts of Argentina.

Witnesses said they saw a hooded man near the site of the blast, while police were reviewing the tapes from security cameras.

Chilean groups have claimed responsibility for a series of recent bombings in Buenos Aires.

The “political prisoners” mentioned in the leaflets are likely the 15 Chilean anarchists accused of carrying out 23 bombings in Santiago and other cities.

Those attacks targeted banks, offices of foreign companies, embassies, churches and police stations, mainly in Santiago.

–IANS/EFE