Park in front the World Trade Center complex where security forces found a explosive device in Montevideo, Uruguay, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2015.
Montevideo – An explosive device was found near a building housing the Israeli Embassy in Montevideo, Uruguay, and was safely detonated.
The Interior Ministry said police dogs detected the explosive in a supermarket bag under a palm tree during a routine check Thursday.
The area, a business complex called World Trade Center, was evacuated as explosives experts detonated it remotely.
A ministry communiqué noted that the embassy is located on the ninth floor of one tower in the Center, but it did not say whether or not the embassy was the target.
According to sources interviewed by El Observador, a local newspaper, the device could not have exploded because it did not have a detonator.
"The bag had a detonating cord, which is an explosive for commercial use (especially in quarries and construction) and a wireless doorbell. Once it was checked, it turned out it had no detonator," Army spokesman, Yamandú Lessa, told El Observador.
He said that they are working on the hypothesis that the person or persons who placed the package "wanted to do a dry run to see the reaction capacity" of the authorities.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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