Letter bombs sent to embassies in Spain

A series of letter bombs have been sent to embassies and other high-profile targets in Spain.

The first device was sent to prime minister Pedro Sanchez on 24 November and since then, letter bombs have been received at the defence ministry, an air force base, a weapons manufacturer and the Ukrainian and US embassies.

A security officer was injured at the Ukrainian embassy and security has been increased at embassies in the country. Ukraine has also ordered all of its embassies abroad to urgently strengthen security.

The device arrived at the Ukrainian embassy on Wednesday, where it detonated whilst it was being investigated by a security official. The same day, a package was delivered to Instalaza, an arms manufacturer in Zaragoza. The company has sent more than 1,000 C90 rocket launchers to Ukraine.

A European Union satellite centre, Spain's defence ministry and the U.S. Embassy received packages on Thursday.

Spain has said the devices will not stop them from supporting Ukraine.

According to Spain's deputy interior minister, early indications suggest that the first five packages were sent from within Spain.

The devices were sent in brown packages with flammable powder and tripwire that caused sudden flames. The packages were all addressed to the heads of the institutions they were sent to. Investigators are looking into the origin of the packages.

Rafael Perez, the junior minister responsible for security said it was not yet necessary to convene the security committee to discuss upping Spain's terrorist threat level.

Image by Stanislav from Pixabay / Madrid