California 'bomb factory' goes up in smoke

LOS ANGELES: A house in California containing a "bomb factory" of explosives went up in smoke on Thursday -- in an operation controlled by fire services, who said it was the safest way to destroy it.

Occasional blasts could be heard as flames leapt high into the air, after a bomb-arson team ignited the building in Escondido, some 30 miles (45 km) north of San Diego in southern California.

Serbian George Djura Jakubec, 54, who lived in the house for about four years, pleaded not guilty Monday to eight charges including making and possessing destructive devices, as well as robbing three banks.

Deputy District Attorney Terri Perez said Jakubec had turned his home into a "bomb factory," which he described in court as "the largest quantity of these types of homemade explosives (ever found) at one place in the United States."

A stretch of nearby freeway was closed and nearby residents were evacuated ahead of the controlled blaze.