News Digest

14 hurt in Malaysia grenade blast

Fourteen people were wounded early Thursday when a suspected hand grenade exploded in a tourist section of Malaysia’s capital Kuala Lumpur, police said. One of the injured was seriously hurt in the pre-dawn explosion outside a pub in Bukit Bintang, a popular area for shopping, dining and nightlife. Kuala Lumpur police chief Tajudin Mohamad Isa told AFP the injured included foreigners but said he did not have specific numbers. Police also found an unexploded grenade that was not of the type used by Malaysia’s military or police, he added. Kuala Lumpur deputy chief Assistant Commisioner Khairy Ahrasa also said the blast was not connected to Islamic State militants, but could be due to misunderstanding or an act of revenge. A bomb disposal squad is now approaching a second explosive which had earlier failed to detonate.

The injured included nationals from Thailand (1), China (2) and Singapore (2). Some of them were club patrons.

A police source

A police source said initial investigations revealed that two hand grenades were thrown but only one exploded. “Shrapnel from the hand grenade caused injuries to passers-by,” the source said, adding that four vehicles were damaged in the blast. Concern has been growing over the potential for militant violence, after authorities said scores of Malaysians are believed to have gone to join the bloody civil war in Syria. Security officials have expressed fear such recruits could become radicalised there, importing their extremist views after returning home or inspiring violent anti-Western attacks by supporters in Malaysia. Police said in August they had arrested 19 people in an amateurish plot to carry out a wave of IS-inspired bombings in Malaysia.