Man hurt in another Limassol bomb blast

By Charlie Charalambous

A 21-year-old unemployed man was seriously injured early yesterday morning when Limassol was rocked by its second bomb blast in three days.

Stavros Stavrou received injuries to his arms legs and chest when a device exploded in the basement of his home in the Ayia Fyla area.

The bomb went off as Stavrou was getting out of his car after parking in the garage at around 1.15am.

Stavrou was rushed to Limassol General hospital for emergency surgery. His condition is described as serious but out of danger.

Police believe the incident is linked to organised crime and the battle between warring factions to control drugs and prostitution in Limassol.

Explosives expert Antonis Shiakallis said Stavrou was lucky to survive the blast.

“If the device had been placed another ten inches higher the victim would have been killed,” he said.

The victim’s father, Andreas Stavrou, has been the target of two attempted murders in the past two years, surviving attacks outside his Ayia Napa cabaret and his home in Ayia Fyla.

Yesterday’s bomb attack follows an incident on Saturday morning when a booby-trap device exploded in central Limassol, injuring 31-year-old car wash owner Evanthis Ioannou.

Shiakallis said the same type of booby-trap device was used in the attack on Stavrou.

On Sunday, Ioannou was remanded for five days by a Limassol district court as a suspected drug dealer, and police are now investigating whether the attack on him was drug-related.

Police fear that Ioannou, who has survived two bomb attacks in a matter of weeks, was on the hit list of a rival gang wanting to control drug dealing in the town.

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