‘Act of terrorism’: Deadly car bomb blast hits IVF clinic

An explosion outside a California fertility clinic that left one dead and several injured is now being investigated as a terrorist act.

The FBI said the bombing of a California fertility clinic, which killed one person and injured several others, was a terror attack, and that the facility was likely targeted deliberately

.A powerful explosion rocked the American Reproductive Centers clinic and several other businesses in Palm Springs.

In a recent update, Akil Davis, the head of the FBI’s Los Angeles field office, told reporters, “This was an intentional act of terrorism. As our investigation will unfold we will determine if it’s international terrorism or domestic terrorism.”

In response to a question on whether the clinic in Palm Springs was purposefully targeted, Akil said: “We believe so, yes.”

Debris covers the ground after the blast. Picture: ABC7 Los Angeles via AP

Palm Springs Police spokesperson Mike Villegas earlier told reporters the car explosion was “an intentional act of violence”.

The mayor of Palm Springs, Ron deHarte, was cited by the Los Angeles Times as saying “a bomb in or near a vehicle parked at the building” caused the blast.

Five people were injured in the blast, which produced a large debris field and damaged a number of businesses, NBC News reports.

The act was being investigated as a possible car explosion, police sources told Fox News.

There is no information yet on a possible motive for the blast, which occurred at 11am, local time.

The aftermath of the deadly blast. Picture: ABC7 Los Angeles via AP

Dr. Maher Abdallah, who runs the American Reproductive Centres fertility clinic where the explosion occurred, told The Associated Press in a phone interview that all of his staff were safe and accounted for.

The explosion damaged the practice’s office space, where it conducts consultations with patients, but left the IVF lab and all of the stored embryos there unharmed.

“I really have no clue what happened,” Dr Abdallah said. “Thank God today happened to be a day that we have no patients.”

Originally published as ‘Act of terrorism’: Deadly car bomb blast hits IVF clinic