KOBE -- The fatal firebombing of one of Kobe's largest telephone dating clubs has led to fears of a renewed intergang war among rival affiliates of the Kobe-based Yamaguchi-gumi.

During the early morning hours of March 2, two unidentified men entered the Rin-Rin House Motomachi telephone club in Chuo Ward carrying Molotov cocktails.

Heading up to the second floor of the three-story building housing the club, witnesses said, the two men tossed the gasoline bombs into the reception area. One of the bottles exploded prematurely, however, dousing the man who threw it in flames.