Bomb thrown at US Embassy in Podgorica, attacker commits suicide

PODGORICA, (Patria) - A bomb was thrown at the United States Embassy in Podgorica around midnight, Podgorica's Vijesti reports.

- Half an hour after midnight, a person committed suicide with an explosive device in front of the US Embassy building. Immediately before the suicide, the person threw an explosive device from the intersection near the Sports Center into the US Embassy compound. It was most likely a hand grenade with a spoon. An investigation and identification are underway. The prosecutor is on site and is leading the investigation. Directorate of Police of Montenegro - the Government of Montenegro wrote on Twitter.

US Embassy spokesperson Jeff Adler confirmed to Vijesti that an attack on the Embassy had occurred and that Embassy officials were working with the police to identify the attacker.

- The Embassy is conducting an internal procedure to determine the safety of its personnel - Adler stated.

Deputy Secretary of State Steve Goldstein said that witnesses saw a man throw an object over the embassy wall, the New York Times reports. It is also stated that no one at the embassy was injured.

Goldstein added that embassy security officials had searched the area and found no other explosive devices, and that the building was not damaged in the attack.

He did not know the motive for the attack, nor whether it was a deliberate suicide attack.

The Embassy announced on its website that there is an active security situation and advised US citizens to avoid the embassy until further notice.