London - UK police said Friday officers had carried out a controlled explosion after “a suspicious package” was found outside the United States embassy in London. The capital’s Metropolitan Police force conducted the explosion after setting up cordons near the high-security site in Nine Elms, just south of the River Thames. “We can confirm that the ‘loud bang’ reported in the area a short time ago was a controlled explosion carried out by officers,” the force said in a post on X. “Enquiries are still ongoing and cordons will remain in place for the time being.”
The US embassy said in a post on the same platform that local authorities were investigating “a suspicious package” outside the building. It added that police had closed a nearby road “out of an abundance of caution”.