Serial bomber could be behind attack on 6-year-old in church

A police officer stands outside the church where an explosion left three people injured during a Sunday Mass in Motta di Livenza, northern Italy, on Sunday. PHOTO: AP

An votive candle exploded in the hands of a 6-year-old girl during Mass in a church in northeastern Italy, seriously wounding her and renewing fears that a serial bomber who has terrorized the region for more than 10 years had struck again.

Two in the Roman Catholic church in the town of Motta di Livenza, 36km from the city of Treviso, were slightly injured Sunday.

Surgeons the thumb, index finger and middle finger of the girl's left hand, doctors told reporters at Pordenone hospital, where the girl had been flown by helicopter.

The child, who had been trying to light the candle when it blew up, suffered shock and "will have some damage but she will be able to use her hand again," Dr. Ruggero Mele, head of the surgical team, told Sky TV.

The arrival of Venice Prosecutor Luca Marini who has been probing the so-called "Italian Unabomber" as well as other investigators underlined the concern that the attack could be the work of the serial bomber.

An device was hidden in the candle, Marini was quoted as saying by the Italian news agency in Treviso.

Several the bombs investigators have blamed on the attacker over the past 11 years were packaged in objects likely to attract children, including a soap bubble container, a colorful marker pen, a jar of a popular snack spread and plastic eggs which normally hold surprise trinkets.

"We heard a big boom and then I saw Greta fall backward covered in blood," Sara Crosato said of her daughter, who was trying to light the candle toward the end of Mass.

Police experts combed the 16th-century stone church, which did not appear to be seriously damaged.