Serbian attacks US embassy, kills himself

PODGORICA – Reuters

A Serbian man threw an explosive device, probably a hand grenade, at the U.S. embassy building in Podgorica, the capital of Montenegro, around midnight before blowing himself up, the government said yesterday.

No casualties were reported from the embassy which confirmed a small explosion near its compound. The U.S. State Department said checks were being carried out to ensure all staff were safe.

Policemen with submachine guns and police vehicles were out on the streets near the embassy building on early on Feb. 22 after the incident. The government, in a tweet, said the attacker committed suicide with an explosive device.

“Immediately before, that person threw an explosive device from the intersection near the Sport Center into the U.S. embassy compound.”

The attacker was an ex-soldier decorated by former Serbian strongman Slobodan Milosevic after NATO’s bombing of Serbia and Montenegro in 1999, police confirmed yesterday. A close relative identified the 43-year-old Dalibor Jaukovic, police said.