Police carry out controlled explosion after suspicious package found near U.S. Embassy in London
London — Police in London conducted a controlled explosion Friday after a suspicious package was discovered near the U.S. Embassy in Britain. They blocked at least one road near the embassy compound, in the Nine Elms neighborhood on the south bank of the Thames.
“We can confirm that the ‘loud bang’ reported in the area a short time ago was a police-controlled explosion,” the Metropolitan Police said in a statement posted online.
The embassy said in its own social media post that police closed a road near the building out of an “abundance of caution.”
Mina Kim/Reuters
The U.S. Embassy in London opened in early 2018 in a new location on the outskirts of the city centre. It is located on a large campus, relatively far from most public roads and surrounded by security fortifications.
Nick Aldworth, Britain’s former counterterrorism coordinator, told CBS News on Friday that the U.S. embassy building is “one of the most secure locations in London.”
“This is a purpose-built embassy,” he said, giving the complex “the benefit of built-in environmental protection measures” such as earthen berms and other physical features that put it “at the very top end of the spectrum in terms of design and location” Protect it from terrorist incidents. “
