Attack at the United States Embassy in Montenegro
The diplomatic legation asked the American citizens to avoid until further order the embassy in Podgorica. After the attack, the authorities reinforced the security of all diplomatic missions in the country. According to a government tweet, the artifact was most likely a hand grenade. The police investigation and identification are ongoing, under the direction of the prosecutor and the police of Montenegro. Montenegro, a small country of 660,000 inhabitants, mostly Slavs, will hold presidential elections in April. According to recent figures, 23 Montenegrins joined the jihadist ranks to fight in Syria and Iraq. For the first time, one of them was convicted in January. In October 2016, the Montenegrin authorities claimed to have prevented a coup d'état orchestrated by a group of pro-Russian militants who planned to overthrow the government.
A man exploded in front of the US embassy in the capital of Montenegro after having thrown a grenade into the building's enclosure, this Thursday at dawn. The authorities of Podgorica, capital of Montenegro, do not privilege, for the moment, any clue after the attack in this small country that joined NATO in 2017 despite the opposition of a large part of the population.
According to the prosecutor Lepa Medenica until now, they do not have any element that allows them to talk about terrorism. The investigators, in cooperation with the FBI, examine the activities in the social networks of the assailant, to determine their motivations and whether he acted alone or with accomplices, said a senior Interior Manager, Enis Baković.
The country's main newspaper, Vijesti, says the attacker is a 43-year-old man born in Kraljevo, Serbia, and residing in Podgorica. Vijesti also disseminated the photograph of a diploma signed by the former president of Serbia Slobodan Milosevic, on a decoration to this man for his services in the Yugoslav army in 1999, the year of the NATO bombing of Serbia to end the war in Serbia. Kosovo. That year, Montenegro and Serbia were united in what remained of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Montenegro declared its independence in 2006 and since then applies a pro-Western policy. An AFP correspondent who arrived at the scene shortly after the attack did not see material damage. The police reported a small crater in a courtyard of the embassy.
According to a security guard at a sports center near the embassy and who asked to remain anonymous, he heard two explosions, one after the other. The police arrived very soon and took the body of a man. The building is located on the outskirts of Podgorica, near the premises of the secret police and the Moraca river. According to the witness, it is possible that the man arrived on foot by a bridge. For its part, the Montenegrin government, at 00H30 (23H30 GMT) in front of the building of the US embassy in Montenegro an unknown person committed suicide with an explosive device. Just before, that person threw an explosive device into the embassy compound.