None of the car-bomb explosions of recent years – including three in 2016 alone – has been solved, leaving many to wonder whether the police will ever get to the bottom of things.

Investigators are likely to face another brick wall as they try to discover who may have been behind yesterday’s car bomb in Msida.

None of the shocking cases involving car bombs in recent years has been solved, and yesterday’s was the second such crime in as many months.

Crime-scene investigators at work in the busy Msida intersection where the car bomb was detonated, quite possibly remotely by a mobile phone. Photos: Mark Zammit Cordina

Home Affairs Minister Carmelo Abela was echoing a sentiment widely shared on social media sites yesterday when he spoke of the government’s “anger and shock” at the audacity of criminals to carry out these acts in widely used public spaces.

Cabinet will today discuss what needs to be done to address this growing concern. Last year there were another three car bombs, with the last one, in November, happening in a residential area in Buġibba.

Mr Abela denied the police lacked investigative resources as a result of upheaval in the force over the past four years – the corps has had five police commissioners since 2013 – but said Cabinet would be discussing what additional measures were needed to strengthen the force.

A discussion like that is never too late, but few are holding their breath that the police will come anywhere close to solving the recent spate of car bombs, which former army commander Brigadier Maurice Calleja describes as a “new fashion”.

Admittedly, car-bomb cases are never easy to crack. According to Mr Calleja, the disadvantage for investigators is that a bomb leaves little or no traces behind it.

“It can also be activated remotely, which means that the perpetrator may not even have to be on the scene of the crime,” he said when contacted.

With the detonating devices in most cases being mobile phones, the police have very few leads to start from, Mr Calleja said.

“A mobile phone can be bought from anywhere, or it can even be stolen, while the blast is very likely to destroy the SIM card, which could give police some important clues,” he said.

A drone used by the forensic team hovers after the fire is extinguished

His views echoed those of police historian Eddie Attard. In the wake of last November’s car bomb, Mr Attard said only a handful of bomb attacks had ever been solved.

The fact that they are choosing public spaces to carry out their crimes shows desperation or utter disregard for collateral damage

“These types of crimes are difficult to solve, which is why the police require more intelligence about the criminal underworld,” Mr Attard said.

It is a view shared by criminologist Saviour Formosa, who called for “intelligence-based policing” to counter these types of crimes.

“The mere fact that a bomb goes off is already shocking; the fact that it happens in an open space that is highly populated makes it even worse,” Prof. Formosa said.

Five innocent people travelling in other cars were injured in yesterday’s explosion.

A similar incident last year saw the car bomb seriously maim its victim when it went off while he was driving along the busy Aldo Moro road in Marsa. The blast also injured an innocent motorist.

“Criminals eliminating each other is something that stands to reason, even if it is bad, but the fact that they are choosing public spaces to carry out their crimes shows desperation or utter disregard for collateral damage,” Prof. Formosa said.

The increased audacity that criminals were showing required the police to place more focus on intelligence gathering, he added.

As a result of the incident, traffic was bumper-to-bumper from Blata l-Bajda all the way to Msida. Photo: Steve Zammit Lupi

“The police need more intelligence to solve these crimes or even anticipate them, and anybody who has information, even if it may seem irrelevant, must come forward,” Prof. Formosa explained.

However, he was reluctant to draw any links between the different car bombs.

The common factor was the use of explosives, he said, with anything else being pure speculation unless all the expert information is compiled.

“The police may have suspicions, but it would need more than that to have strong proof to take the matter to court. This is why the police may need the help of foreign intelligence experts to help bolster their own internal capabilities,” he said.

Meanwhile, Nationalist Party home affairs shadow minister Beppe Fenech Adami said that people were expecting “action and results” from the government in addressing this phenomenon that was endangering the security of families.

Dr Fenech Adami criticised the police commissioner for being a puppet in the government’s hands and said that it was useless for the police to simply state that the victim was known to them “This puts no one’s mind at rest,” he said.

The police force needs serious leadership that investigates criminals thoroughly, added Dr Fenech Adami .

It is a statement many will identify with in the wake of the latest bombing. How easy it is to get to the bottom of things may be another matter altogether, though.

kurt.sansone@timesofmalta.com