DATE= 5/6/2002

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

NUMBER=2-289498

TITLE= MAILBOX BOMBS (L-O-UPDATE)

BYLINE=MICHAEL LELAND

DATELINE= CHICAGO

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: Two more pipe bombs have been found in rural roadside mailboxes in the central United States. The latest were found Monday in the states of Nebraska and Colorado. It is the fourth straight day small pipe bombs have been found in mailboxes. Six people have been injured by the devices. V-O-A's Michael Leland has more.

TEXT: The U-S Postal Service says a man in Hastings, Nebraska, found one of the devices in his mailbox on Monday. It was the eighth mailbox pipe bomb found in Nebraska since Saturday. Authorities say it was similar to the others found in the state, as well as another eight found Friday in Iowa and Illinois.

Later Monday, a man in the Colorado town of Salida found a pipe bomb in his mailbox. It was the first such discovery in that state. The device was in a small plastic bag along with a piece of folded paper. Neither of the devices found Monday exploded.

On Friday, six people were injured, though none seriously.

Federal officials consider the pipe bombs to be cases of domestic terrorism. The bombs are described as two-centimeter long steel pipes packed with explosive powder and attached to a small battery. They have been accompanied by what officials describe as anti-government notes, complaining about government intrusion into people's lives.

The notes are typewritten and say, in part, "If the government controls what you want to do, it controls what you can do. I am obtaining your attention in the only way I can. More 'attention getters' are on the way."

The F-B-I says the bombs are probably the work of one person or a small group of people. The U-S Postal Service says there is no indication that the bomber harbors a grudge against the postal service itself or its workers.

Mail delivery resumed Monday in the parts of Iowa, Illinois and Nebraska where pipe bombs were found earlier. Residents were told to leave the doors of their roadside mailboxes open so that letter carriers could check inside for anything suspicious before dropping off the mail. (signed)

NEB/MJL/MEM