1st LD Writethru: Three explosions shock Tirana

Tirana, the capital of Albania, was shocked on Tuesday by three explosions.

The private business of the father of Albanian interior minister and the house of a police officer were the targets of explosive attacks, while the third bomb was found in a bus station, which was remotely detonated by the police forces.

According to Albanian Daily News, Albanian Prosecution of Serious Crimes is investigating the three attacks, which have been considered terrorist acts.

The first explosive blew up at the pharmacy of the father of Interior Minister Saimir Tahiri. The drugstore of Bashkim Tahiri was almost completely destroyed. The blast was powerful enough to damage even other businesses close to it.

The drugstore is close to the Tirana University Hospital Center. Investigations show that the explosive was placed at the motor of the air conditioning machine, in the external wall of the store.

Police established road blocks and experts were at the site when another explosion occurred at the house of the former chief of police, currently Director of the Serious Crimes in Korca, south of Albania.

What caused even more panic was the dynamite placed at a bus station, near Vasil Shanto School. Police forces made a controlled detonation, by eliminating the risk.

All three explosions had different triggering mechanisms. The one at the drugstore had an electronic one, the one at the apartment building had a fuse, while the one at the bus station had an electric detonator.

These explosions might have been caused by the same group, and it has been considered by authorities as a clear terrorist act.

Police have interrogated 12 people who might have information about these events, and seized camera footage from businesses around the sites of explosions. Endit