Italian far left extremists have taken credit for the bombing of an office of the populist Lega party, with police finding and disarming a second explosive device.
The office, located in the city of Treviso near Venice, was targetted by a rudimentary explosive device on Sunday which did some damage to the door at the entrance of the building but failed to harm anyone, Corriere Della Sera reports.
A second bomb was found at the scene by authorities following the first explosion. The second device is believed to have been intended as the main explosion, the first being used to attract authorities and others into the area to be harmed by a second blast containing nails and other metal fragments.
In reaction to the bombing, Lega leader and current Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini commented, “They try to stop us, but violent delinquents do not scare us. Let’s go forward, stronger than before.”
Italian investigators were able to link a far-left anarchist organisation to the bombing following the discovery of a post from the 12th of August which claimed responsibility for the attack.
The statement, which was published by Italian newspaper Il Giornale, claims the motive for the attack was combatting “racism and exploitation.”
“Direct action makes us clear as to why and how. For an internationalist, rebellious, Anarchist solidarity! For a world without borders or authority!” the group, known as the “Santiago Maldonado Cell,” added.
The bombing is not the first claimed by the far-left group. In December of 2017, the group claimed responsibility for the bombing of a Carabinieri barracks in Rome declaring a “war on uniforms.”
The Rome public prosecutor noted at the time that the investigation was being treated as an act of terrorism.
Far-left terror has seen a surge in the very recent past with anarchists, such as members of Antifascist Action or Antifa, being caught making bombs and even taking credit for the firebombings of Turkish mosques.
The far-left extremist group, which has been praised by some in the mainstream media, also released a terror handbook for “riot tourists” in Germany earlier this year encouraging attacks on offices of the German populist Alternative for Germany (AfD). Another text called PRISMA, which was linked to through the handbook’s website, also showed detailed plans of how to make remote-detonated bombs.
French Antifa, fighting the Turkish government in Northern Syria, have also threatened violent action against the state following a series of evictions of activist squatter camps. Members of the group claimed they would target police, intelligence officials and others.