Car fire caused by explosives
A car fire early on Tuesday morning in Limassol was caused by a low power improvised explosive device police confirmed, a while the vehicle’s owner has not suggested any suspected perpetrators.
The explosion took place around 4.50am, police said, in the covered parking of an apartment building where the 40-year-old owner lives in Ayios Ioannis.
Police spokesman Lefteris Kyriacou said the victim had received no threats prior to the incident. Police declined to comment on whether or not the 40-year-old was previously known to authorities.
“We are trying, through the pyrotechnician, to see if [the incident] is connected to past criminal acts but recent criminal acts in Limassol were not carried out with a similar mechanism,” he said.
According to fire services spokesman Andrea Kettis firefighters responded to extinguish the fire and also evacuated residents from the building as a precautionary measure.
The vehicle was completely destroyed while a second suffered heat damage and the glass windows and exterior paint of the premises were also damaged.
The scene remains cordoned off by the police, who are investigating the case.
Meanwhile, Limassol police are also looking into a second incident of vehicle fire which occurred about an hour later, around 6am, when the fire services were called to put out the fire in the Ayios Nikolaos area.
Both fires are under ongoing investigation by police with the second incident also “strongly suspected” as an arson case, Kettis said.