Denmark police probe blasts near Israeli Embassy

Two blasts occurred near theIsraeli Embassy in  Copenhagen at 3:20 am, Danish police said on Wednesday. 

"It is our preliminary assessment that they were caused by two hand grenades," Jens Jespersen of the Copenhagen police said at a press conference.

Copenhagen police said they arrested three Swedish nationals, aged between 15 and 20, in relation to the two blasts.

According to police, one suspect was arrested near the scene shortly after the explosions, and the other two were detained later at Copenhagen Central Station, which caused temporary suspension of train and metro traffic.

Images published by Danish tabloid Ekstra Bladet showed armed military personnel guarding the building, with the surrounding area cordoned off.

However, it is still unclear if the embassy was the intended target, as the blasts occurred approximately 100 meters from the building.

"It is clear that the Israeli Embassy is in the immediate vicinity and that is naturally also an angle that we look at," Deputy Assistant Commissioner Jakob Hansen told reporters, but he added that it was "too early to say if there is a link" between the blasts and the embassy.

Blasts come amid spiraling Middle East tensions

The incident occurred in the Danish capital's Hellerup suburb, which hosts the foreign missions of Israel as well Iran, Thailand, Turkey and Romania, all within close proximity of each other.

Israel's ambassador to Denmark, David Akov, said that he was "shocked by the appalling incident near the embassy."

"We have full confidence in the Danish authorities and the police in their investigation."

A Jewish school close to the blast site was closed on Wednesday, a spokesperson told Reuters news agency.

The blasts came as tensions have escalated in the Middle East, with Iran firing missiles at Israel and Israel saying it would respond.

Separate shooting near Swedish embassy

The explosions also followed a shooting at the Israeli Embassy in neighboring Sweden. Stockholm police said that evidence suggested the embassy had been hit by gunshots on Tuesday evening.

No injuries were reported, and no one has been arrested, but the city has increased security measures around Jewish and Israeli sites.

In February 2023, a grenade was found within the grounds of the Israeli Embassy in Stockholm, and in May, gunshots were fired outside the embassy.

tg, fmf/msh (AFP, Reuters)