BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – Homemade bombs exploded at several banks in Buenos Aires Wednesday, killing at least one person and damaging property, according to police.
There were conflicting reports as to whether there were explosions at two or three banks in the Argentine capital.
Reuters news service reported that bombs exploded at two Citibank (search) branches and at a Banco Galicia (search) branch. The Associated Press reported blasts at one downtown Citibank and at Banco Galicia.
At least two of the bombs went off near ATM machines, one at a Citibank and one at Banco Galicia.
A 38-year-old security guard was killed in the explosion at the downtown Buenos Aires Citibank, said Hernan Fernandez, a spokesman for a private ambulance service.
The homemade bombs went off before the banks opened for the day, damaging the buildings' facades and shattering windows, according to officials.
Police discovered bombs at two other banks that were later detonated, injuring at least one officer, authorities said.
It wasn't immediately clear whether the blasts were carried out by an international terrorist network such as Al Qaeda, or by local groups. Citibank has been named in Al Qaeda documents as a target for attacks.
Nor was it clear whether there was a link to the Asian Pacific Economic Conference (search) summit, scheduled for this weekend in neighboring Chile. Chilean youths rioted in Valparaiso Tuesday in protest of the APEC summit, which President Bush and other world leaders will attend.
Argentina was rocked by an anti-Semitic bombing in 1994 when dozens were killed at a Jewish cultural center. Investigators have blamed Iran and Lebanese Hezbollah for the attack.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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