http://news.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=486822005
New York blast: UN man quizzed GETHIN CHAMBERLAIN CHIEF NEWS CORRESPONDENT Key points � Blast in New York outside British consulate is under investigation � UN employee from the Netherlands is being questioned by FBI � Explosion coincided with the start of voting in the UK general election Key quote "It is not being treated as a prank. It is being investigated" - New York police spokesman Story in full A UN employee was being questioned by the FBI last night after two makeshift grenades exploded outside the British consulate in New York. The employee, from the Netherlands, was found loitering near the building shortly after the blast in the early hours of yesterday, according to law enforcement sources. The sources would not confirm whether he was a suspect. Officials were also unable to confirm that the consulate, on the ninth and tenth floors of the 14-storey building located less than a mile from UN headquarters, was the target of the attack. The detonation of the primitive devices left US police uncertain about the motive. Asked if the blast was terrorism-related, a Foreign Office spokeswoman in London said: "Investigations are ongoing." The grenades, packed with a black powder thought to be gunpowder, were detonated in a concrete plant pot outside the building in Manhattan at 3:35am New York time. Initial investigations suggested one of the improvised devices had been detonated using a fuse lit by hand, igniting the second device. Police said one was the shape of a pineapple, the other of a lemon. Similar items can be bought in New York toy shops. No-one was injured and the only damage was to the windows of the consulate, but a New York police spokesman said the incident was being treated seriously. The explosions coincided with the start of voting in the UK general election, but US officials were unable to confirm whether the events were linked. "We do not at this point have any idea who did it or a motive," said Michael Bloomberg, the city's mayor. Mr Bloomberg and the police commissioner, Raymond Kelly, stressed it was not clear whether the consulate was the target; the office building houses a variety of domestic and foreign companies. "We don't know who the particular target was at this time," said Mr Bloomberg. No claims of responsibility had been received and there was no threat made, he added. The blasts shattered glass in the building's front door and ripped a chunk of concrete from the plant pot. "I heard a bang, that's it," said Ferdinand Pretd, a witness. "I came outside to check it out and I saw nothing around, no flames, no smoke." Security videos were being reviewed, Mr Kelly said. Despite the small scale of the blast, the fact that a device could be detonated in New York will be of concern to US authorities, who have ploughed billions of pounds into securing the city in the wake of the attacks of 11 September, 2001. The British consulate building in Chicago was cordoned off in the aftermath of the New York explosion as security checks were made. There was also a heavy police presence outside the consulate in Washington and all visitors were screened. ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Take a look at donorschoose.org, an excellent charitable web site for anyone who cares about public education! http://us.click.yahoo.com/_OLuKD/8WnJAA/cUmLAA/TySplB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: [email protected] Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
