Suicide Bomber Throws Explosive at US Embassy in Montenegro

February 22, 2018

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Summary: A Serbian man died after attempting to throw a bomb over the wall of the US Embassy in Podgorica, Montenegro.

On Thursday, a man killed himself after attempting to bomb the US Embassy in Montenegro. According to CNN, he threw a grenade but it detonated in the air.

Police said that after his failed attempt at bombing the embassy in Podgorica, he detonated a second device that killed him. They called the death a suicide.

Steve Goldstein, US undersecretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs, said that the man’s body was found 100 feet from the embassy’s wall.

The Montenegro government said the first grenade was found in the embassy courtyard but no damage incurred because of it, besides a crater at the remaining site of where the bomb exploded.

“Following our internal review, Embassy at Podgorica confirms all Mission personnel are safe and accounted for following the incident early this morning. Thank you all for sending us your support and kind thoughts. #Podgorica #Montenegro,” the embassy wrote on Twitter. “We are grateful for the close cooperation with our partner and ally, the Government of Montenegro, and we thank the #Montenegrin #police for their ongoing professional support with the investigation of today’s incident.”

Goldstein said that only the bomber was harmed and that security was sweeping the area.

Montenegro is a Baltic country that is located in Southeastern Europe, along the Adriatic Sea. According to NBC News, it formed a diplomatic relationship with the US in 2006 and the country joined NATO last year, which was opposed by former ally Russia.

In 2016, two Russia Secret Service operatives attempted to overthrow the Montenegro government because of the country’s increasingly western views.

Axios reported that the suicide bomber was from Serbia and identified him as Dalibor Jaukovic. The AP stated he was “an ex-soldier decorated by former Serbian strongman Slobodan Milosevic after NATO’s bombing of Serbia and Montenegro in 1999.”

Axios stated that the bombing occurred amongst a time when the country is amid tensions over NATO.

“Montenegro has been on edge since a coup plot set for the day of the parliamentary election on October 16, 2016 was uncovered. The Montenegrin government alleges it was being planned by Montenegrin, Serbian and Russian nationalists, some of whom are now on trial, to install a pro-Russian leadership to halt Montenegro’s bid to join NATO,” Axios stated. “Montenegro, one of the states created after the breakup of Yugoslavia, became NATO’s 29th member in June 2017, much to the anger of Moscow, which denies any involvement in the attempted coup, and other Slavic nationalists.”