 |
| CNN WEB SITES: |
|
| TIME INC. SITES: |
| MORE SERVICES: |
| video on demand |
| video archive |
| audio on demand |
| news email services |
| free email accounts |
| desktop headlines |
| pointcast |
| pagenet |
| DISCUSSION: |
| message boards |
| chat |
| feedback |
| SITE GUIDES: |
| help |
| contents |
| search |
| FASTER ACCESS: |
| europe |
| japan |
| WEB SERVICES: |
Bombs found at two previously attacked N. Carolina women's clinics
| |
| Bomb pieces found Saturday | |
Web posted at: 11:52 p.m. EDT (0352 GMT)
FAYETTEVILLE, North Carolina (CNN) -- Powerful bombs were found Saturday outside two women's health clinics where abortions are performed, providing a possible clue in the hunt for fugitive Eric Rudolph. The clinics both were previously targeted by arsonists.
A device consisting of several sticks of dynamite, a detonator and a timer was found near the front door of the Carolina Women's Clinic in the morning, sheriff's officials said.
About three miles away, another bomb was discovered outside the Hallmark Women's Clinic.
The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms confirmed that an unidentified person called authorities Saturday morning about a suspicious package at the Carolina Women's Clinic, a facility that was an arson target last month.
| |
| Powerful bombs were found Saturday outside two women's clinics in North Carolina | |
The package turned out to be a bomb, and a team of U.S. Army experts was called in to defuse it.
As a precaution, authorities checked the Hallmark Women's Clinic, a second Fayetteville clinic attacked by arsonists last month.
They found a second explosive device at that clinic. Both bombs were described as powerful and potentially deadly.
Explosives probed for link to Rudolph
Fayetteville is more than 200 miles from Andrews, North Carolina, where police have been searching for Eric Rudolph, a suspect in a deadly women's clinic bombing in Alabama.
But officials have not had a chance to examine the Fayetteville bombs closely enough to determine any connection to any other attack.
| |
| Eric Rudolph | |
"These devices were serious bombs," said Jeff Roehm, a spokesman for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.
"These very easily could've caused serious injury."
Coincidence unlikely
On September 8, an intentionally set fire caused about $3,000 in damage to the Carolina Women's Clinic. That same morning, someone hurled a firebomb onto the roof of the Hallmark Women's Clinic, causing interior smoke and water damage.
"When you look at the circumstances, it's certainly not too far of a conclusion to think these incidents are related," Roehm said.
Correspondent Pierre Thomas and the Associated Press contributed to this report.