‘Bomb’ was in fact arson

DAMAGE to a pair of Bank of Cyprus cars in Nicosia on Tuesday night was apparently not as first thought caused by a bomb, but by arson, police said yesterday.

Police initially suspected that a bomb had gone off in the enclosed parking area on Androcleous Avenue at around 10.30pm, causing extensive damage to a Mazda MX6 and another vehicle. But after examination by police explosives expert Antonis Shakalis and other officers it was found that the Mazda had been set alight using flammable liquid.

The noise which had been assumed to be a bomb blast was apparently the Mazda’s boot bursting open due to pressure caused by the heat.

No one was injured by the fire, which was put out by the Nicosia Fire Department.

Investigations are continuing.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.