24 Dec 2010

Rome embassy alert after parcel bombs explode

1:15 pm on 24 December 2010

Italian police say all foreign embassies and consulates in Rome are being searched following bomb explosions at the Swiss and Chilean embassies that injured two people.

The bombs were in parcels that had been sent to the diplomatic missions. In each of the blasts, the employee opening the parcel was injured. A Swiss embassy employee suffered serious injuries to his hands.

There's no information on who sent the bombs, though on a note found on the clothing of one of the injured people an anarchist group claims responsibility.

Earlier in the week, a suspected bomb was discovered on an underground train in Rome, though the authorities say it had no detonator, and tests on the powder it contained revealed no explosives.

New Zealand's embassy in Rome remained open until the end of the business day.