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U.S. Embassy in Montenegro Is Attacked, but Only Attacker Is Killed U.S. Embassy in Montenegro Is Attacked, but Only the Assailant Is Killed
(about 9 hours later)
WASHINGTON — A man threw an explosive device onto the grounds of the United States Embassy in Montenegro late Wednesday night, but succeeded only in killing himself, the State Department said. ZAGREB, Croatia — A man threw an explosive device onto the grounds of the United States Embassy in Montenegro late Wednesday, but succeeded in killing only himself, Montenegrin and American officials said.
Around midnight local time, witnesses saw the man, who was not identified, throw an object over the wall of the embassy property in Podgorica, the capital, according to Steve Goldstein, the State Department’s under secretary for public diplomacy and public affairs. The blast killed the man but did not injure anyone in the embassy, which was closed for the night. Around midnight local time, witnesses saw the man, who was not identified, throw an object over the wall of the embassy property in Podgorica, the capital, according to the government of Montenegro and to Steve Goldstein, the State Department’s under secretary for public diplomacy and public affairs. The blast killed the man but did not injure anyone in the embassy, which was closed for the night.
Diplomatic security officials swept the grounds and found no other explosives, Mr. Goldstein said, and the building was not damaged. The embassy has asked local employees to stay home on Thursday as a security precaution. Montenegrin authorities said the assailant had committed suicide, and had not yet been identified. The embassy building was not damaged, but an explosion left a crater in the courtyard, officials said.
Mr. Goldstein said the State Department did not know what the motive for the assault was or whether it was meant to be a suicide attack. Statements released by the Montenegrin government indicated that the bomber had used more than one explosive. One statement said that he “was killed due to the activation of an explosive device after having previously thrown an explosive device” onto the embassy grounds, and that the body was found “across the road from” the embassy. Another said that “one person was killed by activating explosive devices.”
Montenegro, one of the world’s youngest nations, is a tiny country of 640,000 nestled between Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Kosovo and Albania. It was once part of Yugoslavia; later, it became half of the nation of Serbia and Montenegro before declaring independence in 2006. “The Ministry of the Interior and the government of Montenegro condemn in the strongest terms the attack on the U.S. Embassy and express their regret at this event,” the government said.
Mr. Goldstein said that diplomatic security officials had swept the grounds and had found no other explosives. He added that the State Department did not know the motive of the assault or whether it was meant to be a suicide attack.
Montenegro, one of the world’s youngest nations, is a tiny country of 640,000 nestled between Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Kosovo and Albania. It was once part of Yugoslavia, later became part of the nation of Serbia and Montenegro, and declared independence in 2006.
The interior minister, Mevludin Nuhodzic, and the national police director, Slavko Stojanovic, visited the site of the attack and expressed solidarity with American diplomats, the government said. The state prosecutor, Tanja Colan-Deretic, told state television on Thursday that she had also gone to the embassy to inspect the scene, and that the assailant’s body had been sent to a morgue for an autopsy.