Philippine Police Defuse a Bomb Found Outside the U.S. Embassy in Manila

                    

Philippine police safely detonated an improvised explosive device (IED) found in a trash can meters away from the U.S. Embassy in Manila Monday.

Police said the bomb was similar to the device that killed at least 14 people when it exploded at a teaming night market in the southern city of Davao on Sept. 2, the Philippine Daily Inquirer reports.

National Capital Region Police Office chief Superintendent Oscar Albayalde told the Inquirer that the 81-millimeter mortar inside the package “was the same found in Davao.” If it had exploded, he added, it could have affected everything within a 100-meter radius.

The device was discovered by a street sweeper early morning local time who contacted local authorities.

Nobody immediately claimed responsibility for the attempted bombing.

“We are thankful that the municipal employee and the PNP took quick and appropriate action to ensure the safety of all,” said U.S. Embassy Press Attache Molly Koscina in a statement on Monday.