VIENNA (AFP) — Viennese police said Monday they arrested a man who had allegedly tried to enter the United States embassy with a rucksack containing nails and explosives.
Police said the man, carrying a self-made device, tried to gain access to the embassy but fled when detectors at the entrance went off.
The 42-year-old man threw the bag away in a nearby street but was arrested by police.
Bomb experts found two explosive devices that looked like handgrenades in the bag, spokeswoman Doris Edelbacher of the Vienna security and counter-terrorism bureau told the Austria Press Agency.
"The rucksack was also filled with nails," she said, and could have made a lot of damage in the residential neighbourhood.
Experts were still examining whether the device could really have detonated, Edelbacher added.
Austrian television ORF reported that the bag contained one kilogramme (2.2 pounds) of nails.
The suspect, of Bosnian origin and living in the province of Lower Austria, speaks broken German and has so far only made "confused statements," Edelbacher said.
The incident, which occurred around noon (1000 GMT), mobilised the fire department, a demining team from the interior ministry, a dog unit and emergency services.
The bag was secured and nobody was injured, police said.
The area, near the centre of town, was still partially cordoned off late Monday.
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