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Latin America

Four bombs explode simultaneously on a busy Mexican bus route

Authorities have not come up with a motive for the blasts, which caused no injuries

Jan Martínez Ahrens
One of the buses targeted in Saturday's attack in Mexico State.
One of the buses targeted in Saturday's attack in Mexico State.

Four homemade bombs exploded early on Saturday morning destroying several buses used on a busy route in one of Mexico’s most violent states, officials said.

No one was injured by the blasts in the State of Mexico, but one worker sustained burns when he tried to put out the fire in one of the buses.

Last week, assailants fired shots at a group of buses on Line 2

The explosions from the bombs, which were timed to go off at the same time, ripped through some of the vehicles and shattered windows.

The Mexibús service on Line 2, which transports about 200,000 passengers a day, was immediately suspended after the incidents.

Bordering Mexico City’s federal district, Mexico State has seen a rise in violence over the past few years as authorities fear that drug cartels are moving their operations – as well as bringing their terror – closer to the capital.

Last week, unknown assailants attacked a group of buses on Line 2 by firing weapons and throwing flares from their moving vehicles.

Authorities are not clear of the motives behind these attacks, but some investigators believe that they could be the result of an internal dispute over a security contract.

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The bombs that went off on Saturday had been taped to the vehicles and programmed to go explode at the same time at Las Américas bus station, located in Ecatepec.

Las Américas is the first station on Line 2, and normally there are not many passengers that get on the buses at the beginning of the route.

This is one of the reasons why some investigators believe that the culprits responsible for the blasts didn’t want to cause any injuries to passengers but only serious damage to property owned by Mexibús.

English version by Martin Delfín.

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