MADRID, Dec 1 (Reuters) – Bomb disposal consultants defused a letter bomb on the U.S. Embassy in Madrid on Thursday, the sixth such system despatched to high-profile targets in a wave that prompted Spain to step up safety and vow to not be deterred from supporting Ukraine.
The marketing campaign started with a package deal despatched to Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Nov. 24, spurring Madrid to tighten safety round public buildings. Since Wednesday, related gadgets have additionally been despatched to the defence ministry, an air power base, a weapons producer and the Ukrainian embassy – the place a safety officer was barely injured.
Defence Minister Margarita Robles, who was visiting the Ukrainian port metropolis of Odesa on Thursday and met her Ukrainian counterpart Oleksii Reznikov, mentioned the letter bombs wouldn’t deter Spain from supporting Ukraine’s “simply trigger”.
“What have to be very clear is that none of those deliveries or some other violent motion will change the clear and agency dedication of Spain, NATO nations and the European Union to help Ukraine,” she mentioned.
The most recent package deal was intercepted on the U.S. Embassy by safety officers and was later detonated in a managed explosion by Spanish police.
On Wednesday, a package deal addressed to the Ukrainian ambassador to Spain detonated on the nation’s embassy as a safety official investigated it, inflicting him to endure minor accidents to his arms and a concussion. Safety has now been stepped up round embassies as properly.
In a while Wednesday, Instalaza, an arms producer in Zaragoza, northeastern Spain, that has ship greater than 1,000 C90 rocket launchers to Ukraine obtained one other package deal. On Thursday an air power base housing a European Union satellite tv for pc centre, Spain’s defence ministry and the U.S. Embassy additionally obtained packages.
UKRAINE POINTS FINGER AT MOSCOW
After the package deal despatched to the Ukrainian embassy detonated, Ukrainian International Minister Dmytro Kuleba ordered all of Kyiv’s embassies overseas to “urgently” strengthen safety.
Ukraine’s ambassador to Spain, Serhii Pohoreltsev, appeared responsible Russia.
“Now we have directions from the ministry in Ukraine that given the state of affairs we now have to be ready for any type of incident… Russian actions outdoors the nation,” he instructed Spanish tv station TVE on Wednesday.
Russia invaded Ukraine 9 months in the past in what it calls a “particular army operation” that Kyiv and the West describe as an unprovoked, imperialist land seize.
Spain has despatched or dedicated to ship army and humanitarian tools to help Ukraine within the battle, together with surface-to-air missile launchers, a battery of six mild howitzers, ammunition and physique armour and light-weight weapons in addition to providing its airmen coaching in air defence in Spain.
[1/10] A ambulance is seen popping out of the Air Power base of Torrejon de Ardoz after a suspected explosive system hidden in an envelope was mailed to the bottom, within the wake of two others despatched to targets related to Spanish help of Ukraine, amidst Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, outdoors Madrid, Spain December 1, 2022. REUTERS/Violeta Santos Moura
On Thursday, the Twitter account of the Russian Embassy in Spain posted a press release condemning “any menace or terrorist act” in relation to the 5 letter bombs, “significantly directed at a diplomatic mission”.
“SUDDEN FLAMES”
The supply of letter bombs throughout the Spanish capital induced street closures and visitors chaos round main diplomatic and public buildings.
Talking earlier than the most recent package deal was discovered on the U.S. Embassy, Spain’s deputy inside minister mentioned early indications prompt the primary 5 packages have been despatched from inside Spain.
Rafael Perez, the junior minister accountable for safety, instructed a information convention that the selfmade gadgets have been despatched in brown packages containing a flammable powder and tripwire that might generate “sudden flames” reasonably than an explosion.
The packages have been addressed to the heads of the establishments they have been despatched to.
One system had been saved intact for investigative functions, Perez mentioned, whereas the others have been detonated by the safety forces in managed explosions.
“It seems that they have been all despatched from inside the nation however we’re basing this on early visible inspections with out but having an in-depth technical report,” he mentioned.
Perez mentioned it didn’t but seem essential to convene the safety committee that might consider stepping up Spain’s terrorist menace stage, already on the second-highest stage following Islamist assaults round Europe over the previous decade.
A supply near the investigation mentioned that whereas the gadgets have been selfmade, “they weren’t one thing anybody might make”, and investigators have been now looking for to hint their contents to their origin.
One other supply concerned within the judicial investigation mentioned the massive envelopes all had the identical typeface and appeared to have come from the identical sender. They contained an “electrical ignition mechanism” and a substance much like gunpowder, the supply mentioned.
The postal service has been instructed to display all letters addressed to high-profile establishments, he added.
Spain’s Excessive Courtroom that specialises in terrorism has opened an investigation.
(This story has been corrected to repair the spelling of Spanish Defence Minister’s first identify in paragraph 3)
Reporting by Emma Pinedo, Belen Carreno, Jesus Aguado, Corina Rodriguez, Juan Medina and David Latona; Writing by Inti Landauro and Aislinn Laing, Enhancing by Alison Williams and Alex Richardson
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