Explosive device discovered near Israeli Embassy in Uruguay

Improvised bomb subsequently dismantled by Montevideo security forces.

HAARETZ

A small improvised explosive device placed near the Israeli embassy in Uruguay was found and dismantled by security forces on Thursday in Montevideo.

The device, placed in a grocery bag, was found by police dogs some 100 meters from the multi-story office building where the Israeli is housed during a routine sweep.

The building was evacuated from its inhabitants, and the bomb was dismantled by city police.

The device was planted at a distance which would preclude much damage to the building. But senior officials said that the Foreign Ministry’s security detail considers it likely the device was planted as either an attempt to bomb the embassy, or an attempt to check the security in the area ahead of committing an attack.

The army spokesman, Col. Yamandu Lessa, said the object had detonating cord, which is itself explosive, but no detonator or other element that could set it off.

“Everything indicates that it could be a simulation,” he said. “There was also a wireless doorbell that you could find in any supermarket and some cables.”

He said army explosives experts used a robot that blasted the device with high-velocity water from a distance, tearing it apart.

He said he did not know if the device was linked to the embassy’s presence in one of the Trade Center’s towers.

The Foreign Ministry’s spokesman said he prefers to refrain from issuing comment on matters concerning the security of Israeli diplomatic posts abroad.