U.S. Embassy in Spain gets suspicious package amid string of letter bombs
Global News
Authorities said a bomb squad also destroyed an explosive device that was dispatched by regular post to Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Nov. 24.
Police in Spain detonated a suspicious envelope discovered at the U.S. Embassy in Madrid, Spanish officials said Thursday, a day after a similar package sent to the Ukrainian Embassy ignited upon opening and injured an employee.
“We can confirm a suspicious package was received at the U.S. Embassy in Madrid, and are aware of reports of other packages sent to other locations throughout Spain,” the American embassy said in a response to an Associated Press inquiry.
“We are grateful to Spanish law enforcement for their assistance with this matter,” it added.
Authorities cordoned off a wide area around the embassy, located in the centre of Spain’s capital.
The action followed police reporting that multiple explosive letters were sent in Spain over the past two days. Police said they were delivered to Spain’s Defence Ministry, a European Union satellite center located at the Torrejon de Ardoz air base outside Madrid and to an arms factory in northeastern Spain that makes grenades sent to Ukraine.
Spanish authorities have yet to determine who was responsible for the letters or link them to the war in Ukraine.
Authorities said a bomb squad also destroyed an explosive device that was dispatched by regular post to Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Nov. 24.
The Russian Embassy in Madrid on Thursday condemned the letter bombs, saying in a tweet that “any threat or terrorist attack, especially those directed at diplomatic missions, are totally condemnable.”