(JTA) — The offices of Israel’s embassy in Uruguay were evacuated after what was believed to be an explosive device was found near the building.
The device, found by police dogs in a shopping bag, was detonated safely by police sappers after the Montevideo building, called the World Trade Center, was evacuated, The Associated Press reported. Wires and cables were protruding from the device, according to a local media report.
The head of the local bomb squad, Alfredo Larramendi, told the local El Pais newspaper that the device was placed there to “measure police response and times of evacuation.” The device lacked a starter, however, and therefore could not have been detonated, Larramendi said. It contained enough explosives, however, to blow off someone’s hand, he told the newspaper.
It was not clear if the embassy was the target, however, the Uruguayan interior ministry said, according to AP.
The embassy moved into the office tower last month, according to its website. Other offices use the building in the Uruguayan capital.
