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Autobahn near Hannover closed after WWII bombs found

Posted at 11:22 AM, Aug 14, 2016
and last updated 2016-08-14 11:22:15-04

 BERLIN (AP) -- A busy stretch of the German Autobahn near Hannover has been shut down after unexploded World War II-era bombs were located during construction work.

Specialists unearthed a British bomb in one location, an American aerial mine in another and unidentified incendiary bombs in a third location, the dpa news agency reported Sunday.

The A2 Autobahn was closed completely in the area, and 7,500 residents of nearby homes were forced to evacuate while the first two bombs were destroyed in place Sunday, and the others were carted away.

Even more than 70 years after the end of the war, such finds are common in Germany. Hannover was a major target for the Allies - on one night alone in 1943 more than 260,000 bombs were dropped on the city.