(CNN)A
man killed himself after attempting to throw a grenade over the wall of
the US Embassy in Montenegro's capital of Podgorica early Thursday,
authorities said.
The
grenade appeared to have gone off as it was thrown into the air, and
the man detonated a second device that killed him, police said.
The
man's body was found 100 feet from the embassy's wall, according to
Steve Goldstein, US Undersecretary of state for public diplomacy and
public affairs. The man's motive for throwing the device was unclear,
Goldstein said.
In a statement, Montenegrin police confirmed they had found the "lifeless body of an unidentified male."
Police guard the entrance to the US Embassy compound in Podgorica after Thursday's explosion.
"According
to the investigation so far, this male person was killed due to the
activation of an explosive device after having previously thrown an
explosive device -- a bomb -- into the US Embassy courtyard," the
statement said.
Police
said the embassy incurred no damage "other than the crater remaining at
the site where the bomb exploded," adding "evidence from the site has
been collected and it will be subject to expert evaluation."
The embassy issued a statement Thursday morning saying there was "an active security situation" near the building in Podgorica.
In a post later on Twitter, the embassy said,
"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.
In
a follow-up tweet, it added, "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 there were no other injuries or damage to the embassy, and
security officers were continuing a full sweep of the area.
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