Incomplete Bomb Blast in Paris Marketplace Slightly Injures 4

PARIS —  A homemade bomb hidden in a pressure cooker caused an explosion in an outdoor market Sunday, slightly injuring four people, setting several food stalls ablaze and sparking worries that a new terrorist wave had hit Paris.

It was the third bomb attack in as many months in the French capital despite a nationwide security alert.

The explosion occurred under a fruit and vegetable stand at the outdoor market near the Place de la Bastille.

The detonator went off, but the rest of the bomb failed to explode, authorities said. If it hadn’t malfunctioned, there could have been many casualties in the busy marketplace, they said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but suspicion fell on Algerian militants who have threatened France for its support of the military-backed government in Algiers. The Algerian Armed Islamic Group is suspected in the other bombings.

The explosion came shortly before noon at the market.

“I turned around and saw a huge fireball that went into the air,” said John Hower, 46, an American businessman. “The stall canopies started to burn, and I, like everybody else, started running. . . . One of the merchants put the fire out with a hose.”

The four victims, all women, suffered leg and arm injuries and superficial burns.

Police have tightened security around the country since a bombing in a Paris regional subway train July 25 that killed seven people and injured 84. Another bomb exploded on a street near the Arc de Triomphe on Aug. 17, wounding 17 people.