Terror attack targeting metro shopping center in Chile injures 14

SANTIAGO, Chile, Sept. 9 (UPI) -- Chilean President Michelle Bachelet denounced Monday's bombing at an underground metro shopping center in Santiago as "one of the most cowardly we have seen."

No one has yet claimed responsibility for the lunchtime attack that injured 14 people.

The bomb was hidden in a trash can in the shopping area of the Escuela Militar metro station.

"I was having lunch when I felt the bang," said Joanna Magneti, who works at the station. "When I went to see what had happened, I saw lots of smoke, people running and shouting, a youngster who was badly injured and a woman with an injured hand."

According to Interior Minister Rodrigo Penailillo, the president's mother was at the shopping center when the bomb detonated but was not injured. It is unclear whether Bachelet's mother was a target of the attack.

Penailillo noted that security would be increased at metro stations and urged residents to report suspicious activity.

The government "would not rest until those responsible are behind bars," vowed Penailillo.