Rome: A parcel bomb with a timer exploded early yesterday morning in front of a Florence bookstore run by a neo-fascist group, seriously wounding a policeman trying to defuse the device, authorities said.
Anti-terrorism police discovered the package while patrolling sensitive sites and called in the bomb squad, Florence police chief Alberto Intini told RAI state television.
The package detonated as a police expert was approaching it at about 5:30am, Intini said. The officer was rushed to hospital where his left hand was amputated, a police source said.