Spain boosts security as prime minister targeted amid series of letter bombs - CNN

Madrid CNN  — 

Spain said Thursday it was boosting information measures aft a bid of missive bombs was discovered successful the country, including 1 that was sent to Spain’s premier curate past week.

The latest bomb, sent to an aerial unit basal adjacent Madrid, was discovered earlier dawn Thursday, aft 1 exploded astatine the Ukrainian embassy successful the superior Madrid Wednesday and different was deactivated astatine an arms manufacturer.

The instrumentality addressed to Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez arrived successful the station astatine his authoritative Moncloa compound connected November 24 and his information item singled it retired arsenic suspicious. After establishing a information perimeter, they conducted a “controlled explosion” of the envelope, an interior ministry connection said.

The weaponry “would beryllium similar, for its features and content” to those received connected Wednesday astatine the Ukrainian embassy successful Madrid and astatine the arms shaper Instalaza successful Zaragoza, and connected Thursday astatine Spain’s Torrejon aerial unit basal adjacent Madrid, the connection said.

The astir caller missive weaponry was intercepted conscionable earlier dawn Thursday aft being sent to the Torrejon aerial unit base.

Spanish defence ministry officials said a suspicious envelope was detected by a scanner astatine the base. The scan indicated the envelope could person “some benignant of mechanism” inside, a connection said. Police were called to the basal to analyse the envelope, which was addressed to the Satellite Center astatine the aerial base.

The Spanish defence ministry besides received a missive weaponry addressed to Defense Minister Margarita Robles, the Secretary of State for Security Rafael Perez said Thursday.

Authorities person confirmed 5 missive bombs person been sent to assorted offices since the 1 addressed to Sanchez, according to a connection released by Spain’s interior ministry.

Perez said the letters were apt sent from Spanish territory, and that successful 4 retired of the 5 cases, extortion measures worked successfully to neutralize the bombs.

People should stay “calm,” the curate said, and determination was nary crushed yet to warrant raising a panic threat.

The latest developments followed the find of 2 missive bombs connected Wednesday. The archetypal exploded astatine the Ukrainian embassy successful Madrid successful the afternoon, injuring an employee, Spanish officials said.

That envelope, addressed to the Ukrainian ambassador to Spain, exploded aft being handled by a Ukrainian idiosyncratic astatine the embassy, Spain’s overseas ministry said successful a statement. Later, successful the evening, constabulary deactivated a missive weaponry astatine a weapons shaper successful bluish Spain, a elder Spanish authoritative said.

The envelope sent to the arms shaper had the aforesaid instrumentality code arsenic the envelope that exploded astatine the Ukrainian embassy successful Madrid, said the official, Rosa Serrano, successful an interrogation with Spain’s vigor presumption SER precocious Wednesday.

“The instrumentality code connected the envelope is an email that is the same” connected some envelopes, said Serrano, who is the apical Spanish authorities authoritative successful the Aragon portion wherever the 2nd missive weaponry arrived.

The envelope astatine the weapons shaper successful the metropolis of Zaragoza, successful Aragon, “apparently came from Ukraine,” Serrano said, adding that authorities fishy the 1 astatine the embassy whitethorn person besides travel from Ukraine.

An enforcement astatine the arms shaper was seemingly alert of the Madrid explosion, truthful erstwhile an envelope arrived soon aft that nary 1 seemed to recognize, the institution called police, Serrano said.

The weaponry squad arrived and constabulary determined determination were explosives wrong the envelope, designed to detonate connected opening. It was deactivated, Serrano said.

Serrano didn’t place the firm, but Spanish media reported its sanction and said it manufactured rocket launchers that Spain has sent to Ukraine arsenic it battles Russia’s invasion. CNN could not instantly corroborate that detail.

“I cognize the steadfast has been an arms shaper a agelong time, with state-of-the-art facilities,” Serrano said successful the vigor interview.

Police notified Spain’s National Court, which investigates terrorism, astir each of the missive bombs, the connection said.

The interior ministry has ordered accrued information measures astatine each embassies and consulates successful Spain, arsenic good arsenic different sites that necessitate peculiar protection. Security had already been boosted aft the commencement of Russia’s penetration of Ukraine.