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| Europe | ||
| Hungary police say Budapest blast was directed at officers | ||
| 2016-09-26 | ||
| [REUTERS] Hungary's police were the target of a home-made shrapnel bomb that rocked central Budapest late on Saturday, injuring two officers, the national police chief said on Sunday. Karoly Papp described the incident as a criminal case of attempted homicide, adding there was no sign that the attack had been carried out by a foreign holy warrior organization, but without ruling it out explicitly. "We consider this attack occurred against the entire Hungarian police. Someone tried to execute my officers," Papp told a news conference. He said the attack was clearly directed at police, who were known to patrol the area, on one of the busiest thoroughfares in central Budapest, on a Saturday night. The device exploded shortly after 10:30 p.m.. It was not immediately clear why police would be the target. Both the officers needed surgery, with a female officer in a critical condition on Sunday and her male colleague stable. Police have identified a suspect who was at the scene before the blast and asked for citizens' help to find him. Papp gave a description of the suspect, who he said was a 20-25 year-old male in blue jeans and a hat.
There was confusion about the cause of the blast on Saturday night, with initial reports suggesting it was a gas kaboom.
The incident comes days before Hungary holds a referendum October 2 on the EU’s quota plan for the mandatory relocation of migrants. The campaign has been marked by fears over public security, and government posters that have strongly linked migration and migrants to terrorism. | ||
| Posted by:Fred |