Parcel bomb injures worker at driver licensing agency in Wales

A parcel bomb exploded and injured three women at Britain's driver and vehicle licensing agency on Wednesday, the third parcel bomb to injure office workers in as many days at sites connected with cars and traffic regulations.

Photo: Parcel bomb injures worker at driver licensing agency in Wales

Parcel bomb injures worker at driver licensing agency in Wales

The Association of Chief Police Officers said that seven such devices had been mailed in the past three weeks, causing minor injuries to six people. The group did not say whether they believed all the devices were part of a single campaign.

"The packages received so far have caused minor injuries, but could have been more serious," said Assistant Chief Constable Anton Setchell, who is the national coordinator for domestic extremism.

Bomb disposal experts destroyed another suspicious package in a controlled explosion in Portsmouth Wednesday morning, Hampshire police said. "At this stage it is not being linked to any of the postal bombs across the U.K.," said spokeswoman Sally Evans.

She gave no details about where the suspicious package was found.

Wednesday's explosion occurred at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority in Swansea. "One woman has sustained minor burns and two other women have sustained hearing related injuries," a police statement said.

The DVLA processes drivers' licenses and vehicle registrations.

On Monday, a woman was injured by an exploding parcel at the head office of Capita Group PLC in London. The company has numerous government contracts, including designing and running a system for enforcing the congestion charge imposed on motorists in central London.

Two people were injured Tuesday in an explosion at Vantis PLC in Wokingham, 40 miles (65 kilometers) southwest of London. A spokesman for the accounting company said the parcel was addressed to a client whom he refused to identify.

News reports, however, said the company's clients included Speed Check Services, which provides digital speed enforcement technology to police.

Kent Police said a resident in Folkestone, 70 miles (110 kilometers) southeast of London, suffered minor injuries on Saturday when a letter exploded as it was being opened, reports AP.

On Jan. 28, Kent Police said a homemade device exploded at a residence in Chatham, 35 miles (55 kilometers) southeast of London, causing minor injuries to a resident. Chief Inspector Peter Wedlake said it appeared to be "a very small, crude homemade device that may have contained some firework powder."

Authorities also disclosed on Tuesday that three devices were mailed to companies in Oxfordshire and the West Midlands area in January.

It wasn't clear which of the earlier incidents were included in the six mentioned by the Association of Chief Police Officers.