VIENNA (AFP) — Austrian police said Tuesday they had arrested a second man in connection with an attempted bomb attack against the United States embassy in Vienna.
The man was arrested in nearby Tulln Monday evening, on the basis of information given by the main suspect, a 42-year-old Bosnian detained after trying to enter the US embassy with a rucksack containing nails and explosives.
The first suspect told police he had been instructed to deliver the bag to the embassy by the second man, another Bosnian national.
The second man had denied any involvement in the case, Austria's director-general for public security Erik Buxbaum told journalists. A search of his home did not turn up any more evidence, he added.
The Austria Press Agency named the first suspect as Asim C. and his accomplice as Mehmed D.
Doris Edelbacher, a spokeswoman for the Vienna security and counter-terrorism bureau, told the Austria Press Agency that not too much should be read into the second arrest. The first suspect appeared to want to implicate other people, she said.
Buxbaum said the first suspect, who had no previous record, had been in psychiatric care in recent years and still appeared confused.
Police had found half a kilogramme (1.1 pounds) of explosives at his home, he added.
No link had been established between the two men and any Islamic movement, Edelbacher said.
The main suspect tried to enter the embassy Monday and demanded to speak with the head of security, but explosives detectors at the entrance triggered an alarm and the man fled.
After throwing away his bag in a nearby street, he was arrested by police who had been alerted by the embassy.
Experts found two hand grenades in the bag, along with nails, but the charges had been removed and police were still examining whether the device was indeed explosive.
Police are still investigating the two suspects' background and their potential motives for the attack.
Whether the incident was a terrorist act was irrelevant, Buxbaum said: "It's enough for me when somebody comes to the US embassy with explosives."
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