Live WWII RAF Bombs Found in Germany

OSNABRUECK, GERMANY -- German bomb disposal teams defused two World War II bombs and carried out controlled explosions on two more Sunday after 15,000 people were evacuated from nearby residential areas.

The 250-kilogram bombs were believed to have been dropped by British Royal Air Force planes on the north German town of Osnabrueck more than 60 years ago.

They were discovered between two and five metres under the earth of a housing estate mainly used by the British military until the soldiers were pulled out of Osnabrueck several months ago.

The first two bombs were rendered harmless Sunday morning, but experts were unable to defuse the others and covered them with earth and bales of straw to minimize the effects of the blast.

Some 15,000 residents in two suburbs were asked to leave their homes as a precaution. Two hospitals and an old people's home were also evacuated. Some 1,000 members of the emergency services were on duty throughout the day.

Unexploded bombs left over from the war are regularly found in Germany. Osnabrueck, about 300 kilometres west of Berlin, was regularly targeted by Allied air raids during World War II.