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Published 12:53 IST, December 10th 2019

Hong Kong police defuse homemade nail bombs with high explosives in school

Hong Kong police said that they have found homemade nail bombs with high explosives in a Hong Kong school are further investigating the matter, as per reports.

Reported by: Sounak Mitra
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Hong Kong police said that they have found homemade nail bombs with high explosives in a Hong Kong school and are further investigating whether the explosives were connected to political unrest and crisis in the city. The bomb disposal squad rushed to the spot at Wah Yan College in Wanchai district after a caretaker came across the devices, according to the police. Alick McWhirter, senior bomb disposal officer said that the bombs were complete, fully functional and ready to be used. McWhirter said the two devices contained a total of 10 kilograms heavily loaded explosives and they are operated in such a way that they can be operated using a mobile phone.

READ: Hong Kong Protesters Lead As The Most Popular Choice For TIME Person Of The Year

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College used to hide explosives: Police

Nails had been added to the explosives to increase their destructiveness. Police said that the college has been used to hide the explosives for later use. Hong Kong police said on December 8 that they conducted raids in the sidelines of a major rally and discovered weapons which include pistol and ammunition. This is the first firearm seizure that is linked to the protests directly. The city marked another huge rally on Sunday afternoon as the pro-democracy protestors stuck to their demand for greater democratic reforms and police accountability. The police displayed weapons that they claim had been found during overnight raids at eleven locations just some hours before the march was due to start. The display included a Glock semi-automatic pistol with 105 rounds, a samurai sword, nine extendable batons, bottles of pepper spray and knives. Police added that 11 people have been taken into custody. Hong Kong police have retrieved the gathering of newly discovered chemicals and petrol bombs assembled by the anti-government protestors in a college campus of the semi-autonomous Chinese territory on December 4. They reentered the campus besieged by the young protestors for more than a week.

READ: Hong Kong Protesters Flee To Taiwan Amid Escalating Tensions

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Police retrieve chemicals, petrol bombs

Officers were called to retrieve additional dangerous items found among the debris. Riot police in Hong Kong battled with the pro-democracy protestors at different varsity campuses and brought to a halt the city's upscale business hub on November 12. It was considered to be one of the most violent phases of unrest seen in more than five months of widespread protests. The recent violence sparked since Monday when a police officer shot a protestor on Monday and a man was set on fire in the neighbouring district. The universities present in the city emerged as battlefields throughout Tuesday, November 12 with sustained clashes at major campuses for the first time. The main violence erupted from the Chinese University of Hong Kong where the usual grounds were turned into a battlefield. Police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at hundreds of protestors who encroached the road with barricades resulting in an hour-long stand-off between both sides.

READ: Hong Kong Police Seize Weapons Like Pistols, Ammunition Ahead Of Protest

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READ: Hong Kong Gears Up For Mass Rally To Support Pro-democracy Demonstrations

11:43 IST, December 10th 2019