ZAGREB, Croatia (AP)--A bomb Monday toppled a statue of former Yugoslav dictator Josip Broz Tito in his home town in northern Croatia.
The Culture Ministry condemned the early morning attack in the town of Kumrovec - which also damaged nearby houses -calling it a "barbaric act."
The head and a right shoulder of the bust were blown off in the explosion, Croatian state-run radio said.
No one took responsibility for the blast.
Part of the village is a memorial to Tito's childhood, and the area is considered a national heritage site.
Tito, who headed Yugoslavia from its creation at the end of World War II until his death in 1980, was credited for holding together a patchwork of different nationalities in what was then known as the Yugoslav federation.
After his death many ex-Yugoslavs denounced Tito as a communist strongman who suppressed religion, persecuted his opponents and disregarded human rights.
Croatian nationalists charge he was a criminal, responsible for the deaths of many Croats during his leadership.
When Croatia's conservative government recently destroyed two monuments to the officials of Croatia's World War II pro-Nazi regime erected by nationalists, some Croats insisted that Tito's monuments should be destroyed as well.
The ministry said it would swiftly repair damage to the statue.
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December 27, 2004 06:32 ET (11:32 GMT)- - 06 32 AM EST 12-27-04
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