The bomb that left a man badly injured was probably still being manufactured when it went off on Wednesday afternoon, police sources said.
Although preliminary investigations were giving some indications, it was still “far too early” to tell if Kevin Ellul, 42, was the intended target and nothing was being ruled out at this point, the sources were quick to add.
“Investigations continue and it is not clear what happened exactly. However, judging by what we have seen at the scene of the crime it would appear the explosion was caused by a bomb that was still ‘open’ or being assembled,” a senior investigator said.
The blast and the crater it left behind indicated it was not as powerful as other explosions, including car bombs, he added.
“Of course, this could also mean other things, like something could have gone wrong with the bomb, which is why we must wait for a more detailed analysis to be sure,” the sources said.
The police are hoping they will be able to speak to Mr Ellul at Mater Dei Hospital possibly today
“Other circumstances” pointed at the possibility that the bomb might not have been intentionally triggered when it went off, they added, noting, however, nothing was certain at this stage.
The police are hoping they will be able to speak to Mr Ellul at Mater Dei Hospital soon, possibly as early as today. The sources, however, said it was very unlikely that much would come out of the questioning, as had been the case with other explosion survivors, who usually remained tight-lipped with investigators.
The police sources said Mr Ellul, known as 'Double Zero', was known to have links with a group whose members had been investigated in connection with suspected drug trafficking.
The police have already spoken to another member of the group who was waiting for Mr Ellul outside the storeroom when the explosion occurred.
A third man, who had been spotted on the scene but disappeared after the blast, had been located and was interrogated.