Parcel Bombs Rattle Rome

Package bombs detonated at two embassies in Rome on Thursday, injuring one person at each post, in attacks similar to a spate of attempted bombings in Greece last month. A Swiss Embassy employee suffered injuries to both hands in the first incident in Rome, and another was reportedly hurt at the Chilean Embassy later, followed by the discovery of yet another suspicious mailing at the Ukranian Embassy, according to The New York Times. —KA

The New York Times:

After the first explosion, Foreign Minister Franco Frattini of Italy quickly condemned what he called a “deplorable act of violence” against the Swiss Embassy and wished the employee a speedy recovery. Counterterrorism officials have opened up an investigation, Italy’s ANSA news agency reported.

After the explosion at the Swiss embassy, bomb disposal experts checked the building, located in the leafy Rome neighborhood of Parioli, but no one was evacuated, Reuters reported. “The ambassador is still on site,” Maurizio Mezzavilla, a police spokesman, told reporters at the scene.

The parcel explosions come two days after Rome police discovered a defective explosive device under a subway seat. That package—containing tubes, wiring and a small amount of explosive powder—“was too rudimentary” to work, the police said.

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AP / Angelo Carconi

Mayor Gianni Alemanno speaks to the media outside the Swiss Embassy in Rome following the mail-bombing incident there on Thursday.