The FINANCIAL — An attacker threw an explosive device at the U.S. Embassy in Montenegro before blowing himself outside the building in an attack in the middle of the night, U.S. and Montenegrin officials say.
A U.S. official said nobody at the embassy in the Balkan country’s capital, Podgorica, was injured in the attack, which the Montenegrin government said occurred at 12:30 a.m. on February 22, according to RFE/RL.
“An unknown person committed suicide with an explosive device,” the government tweeted in English. “Immediately before, that person threw an explosive device from the intersection near the Sport Center into the U.S. embassy compound.”
The device thrown at the embassy was “most likely” a hand grenade, the government said. It said police were investigating the incident and seeking to identify the attacker and determine his motives.
Eyewitnesses saw the assailant throw an object over the wall of the embassy compund, according to Steve Goldstein, the U.S. State Department’s undersecretary for public diplomacy and public affairs.
Goldstein said that the blast the attacker set off killed him but did not injure anyone in the embassy, which was closed for the night, The New York Times reported.
The embassy building was not damaged and diplomatic security officials who swept the grounds found no other explosives, Goldstein said.
U.S. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said on Twitter that there was a “small explosion” near the U.S. Embassy compound at around midnight and the embassy was seeking to confirm the safety of all its staff.
Embassy officials were seeking to confirm the safety of all staff and “working closely with police to identify the assailant(s),” Nauert said.
Residents in the area heard two explosions, local media reported.
The embassy canceled all services on February 22 and warned U.S. citizens to stay away until further notice.
“The U.S. Embassy in Podgorica advises U.S. citizens there is an active security situation at the U.S. Embassy in Podgorica,” it said on its website. “Avoid the embassy until further notice.”
The embassy also instructed Americans to avoid large gatherings in the capital and monitor local media for updates on the situation.
Montenegro, the smallest former Yugoslav republic, became the 29th country to join the NATO military alliance in May 2017 in a move bitterly criticized by Russia and opposed by some Montenegrins who advocate closer ties with Moscow.
The incident came as Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was in neighboring Serbia on a two-day visit aimed at bolstering long-standing ties with Belgrade.
With reporting by RFE/RL’s Balkan Service, AP, Reuters, Portalanalitika.me, and The New York Times
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