Sixth letter bomb detected at U.S. Embassy in Madrid

A sixth letter bomb was intercepted on Thursday at the U.S. Embassy in Madrid, similar to those sent earlier to Spanish President Pedro Sanchez, Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles, the satellite center at the Torrejon de Ardoz base, the Instalaza arms company in Zaragoza, and the Ukrainian Embassy in the Spanish capital. 

The new letter, which contained a homemade explosive device, was detected at 12:30 p.m., the Ministry of the Interior confirmed, adding that the permanent police protocol was activated after the discovery.

The package was detonated in a controlled manner after specialized bomb disposal agents from the State Security Forces arrived at the embassy, the ministry said.

The Secretary of State for Security of the Spanish Ministry of the Interior, Rafael Perez, reiterated during a press conference on Thursday that the authorities are still in the preliminary phase of the investigation.

The first suspicious package was found on November 24 at the Moncloa Palace and was addressed to President Sanchez, but was intercepted by the President's security service, reported El Heraldo de España. 

On November 30, another letter arrived with pyrotechnic material inside a box that caught fire, injuring an employee of the Ukrainian Embassy in Madrid. The letter was addressed to the Ukrainian ambassador in Spain, Serhii Pohoreltsev. Later that evening, a third explosive letter was sent to the director of the Instalaza company in Zaragoza, which sends defense material to Ukraine.

On Thursday morning, a similar envelope was detected at the Torrejón air base addressed to the director of the European Union Satellite Center. This is the only explosive that was not detonated in a controlled manner by the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technician (TEDAX) robots, which may prove to be key in the investigation, adds the newspaper. 

The last letter was sent to the Ministry of Defense and forwarded to Minister Margarita Robles.