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Hong Kong Police Arrest 17 People Over Suspected Homemade Bombs

Police held 12 men and five women, aged between 21 and 53, after conducting overnight raids on 22 properties.

Hong Kong Police Arrest 17 People Over Suspected Homemade Bombs
Fire from a petrol bomb burns during a protest in Jordan district of Hong Kong, China. (Photographer: Kyle Lam/Bloomberg)

(Bloomberg) -- Hong Kong police arrested 17 people in connection with suspected homemade bombs that have been discovered over the past two months.

Police held 12 men and five women, aged between 21 and 53, after conducting overnight raids on 22 properties, senior superintendent of the Organized Crime and Triad Bureau Lee Kwai-wah said at a media briefing Sunday. They seized about 1.5 kilograms of explosives and 2.6 tonnes of chemicals, Lee said.

Improvised bombs exploded at three different locations in the city between late January and early last month, he said. There have been posts on social media claiming responsibility for the blasts, Lee said, declining to provide further details.

Hong Kong police chief Tang Ping-keung has warned of the rising risk of domestic terror as people try to pressure the government into yielding to the demands of activists after more than six months of anti-government protests in the city.

Hong Kong Police Chief Says Need to Prevent Domestic Terrorism

To contact the reporter on this story: Kiuyan Wong in Hong Kong at kwong739@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Candice Zachariahs at czachariahs2@bloomberg.net, Stanley James, Allen Wan

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