'False alarm' over US embassy bomb scare
US ambassador to Sweden, Matthew Barzan, praised Swedish police for their professionalism in a statement confirming that the suspect package found at the embassy this morning was determined to pose no threat.
“I want to thank the Stockholm police for their quick response and professionalism in dealing with this incident. We are relieved that there was no actual threat, and pleased that the excellent cooperation between the Embassy security team and the Stockholm police functioned perfectly," the ambassador said.
Swedish police had earlier established that the incident concerned a regular package and did not contain explosives.
"We didn't even need to destroy it," Ulf Lindgren at Stockholm police confirmed to news agency TT.
Embassy staff sounded the alarm to police shortly after 10am on Friday that a suspicious package had been found at the embassy, with embassy security staff concluding that it contained an explosive.
The police bomb squad was sent to the US embassy in Stockholm on Friday morning after the suspicious package was delivered. It as yet unclear what the package in fact contains, but it has been declared safe.
The embassy has confirmed that it contacted the police in accordance with standard procedure.
"The Embassy was not evacuated and has returned to normal operations," the embassy statement confirmed.
Embassy spokesperson Chris Dunnett had previously confirmed that all embassy personnel had been moved to safety for the duration of the incident.
An area around the embassy, which is located on Dag Hammarskjölds väg in the eastern parts of central Stockholm, was cordoned off by police for a time on Friday morning. The cordon has now been lifted.
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“I want to thank the Stockholm police for their quick response and professionalism in dealing with this incident. We are relieved that there was no actual threat, and pleased that the excellent cooperation between the Embassy security team and the Stockholm police functioned perfectly," the ambassador said.
Swedish police had earlier established that the incident concerned a regular package and did not contain explosives.
"We didn't even need to destroy it," Ulf Lindgren at Stockholm police confirmed to news agency TT.
Embassy staff sounded the alarm to police shortly after 10am on Friday that a suspicious package had been found at the embassy, with embassy security staff concluding that it contained an explosive.
The police bomb squad was sent to the US embassy in Stockholm on Friday morning after the suspicious package was delivered. It as yet unclear what the package in fact contains, but it has been declared safe.
The embassy has confirmed that it contacted the police in accordance with standard procedure.
"The Embassy was not evacuated and has returned to normal operations," the embassy statement confirmed.
Embassy spokesperson Chris Dunnett had previously confirmed that all embassy personnel had been moved to safety for the duration of the incident.
An area around the embassy, which is located on Dag Hammarskjölds väg in the eastern parts of central Stockholm, was cordoned off by police for a time on Friday morning. The cordon has now been lifted.
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