Clinic Bombs Powerful, Designed Differently

The federal authorities investigating the bombing at an abortion clinic near Atlanta last week have concluded that the two bombs used were each built with 10 to 20 sticks of dynamite, a powerful high explosive that experts say is unusual in homemade terrorist devices.

In the Jan. 16 attack at the clinic, officials said they had determined that the design of the second bomb, which detonated about an hour after the first blast, differed from the first bomb.

The second device, which was packed in a metal, military-style container that also held 3-inch concrete nails, seemed intended to spew metal fragments over a wide area.

No one has claimed responsibility, and, although the clinic was a presumed target, investigators are pursuing other theories, including the possibility that the attack was aimed at law-enforcement personnel.