HONG KONG (BLOOMBERG) - Hong Kong police arrested 17 people in connection with suspected homemade bombs that have been discovered over the past two months.

Police held 12 men and five women, aged between 21 and 53, after conducting overnight raids on 22 properties, the Organised Crime and Triad Bureau's Senior Superintendent Lee Kwai Wah said at a media briefing on Sunday (March 8).

They seized about 1.5kg of explosives and 2.6 tonnes of chemicals, Senior Supt Lee said. Improvised bombs exploded at three different locations in the city between late January and early last month, he added.

There have been posts on social media claiming responsibility for the blasts, he said, declining to provide further details.

Hong Kong police chief Tang Ping Keung has warned of the rising risk of domestic terror as people try to pressure the government into yielding to the demands of activists after more than six months of anti-government protests in the city.