ONE TEENAGER HAS DIED and several students are injured in a bomb attack outside a secondary school in the southern Italian town of Brindisi.

The explosion occurred shortly before 8am today as students were gathering for class. La Repubblica reports that gas canisters were used as explosive devices in the attack and that up to three devices were involved.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attack.

One of the injured students is in critical condition, a hospital official told the AP, and several others are undergoing surgery and treatment following the explosion.

Interior Minister with responsibility for domestic security Anna Maria Cancellieri said she was struck by the fact that the school was named after a murdered anti-Mafia prosecutor and his wife, but said that investigators have found no indications at present to suggest that this was an element in the attack.

Cancellieri also said that the location of today’s explosion challenged the authorities’ views on what could be a possible target for attack: “Anything now could be a ‘sensitive’ target.”

- Additional reporting by the AP