US Embassy Attack Wasn't Terrorism: Montenegro Police

Montenegrin police said on Thursday that the man who threw a grenade into the US embassy compound in Podgorica and then killed himself had no criminal record and that the attack was not an act of terrorism.

The US State Department also said on Thursday that it doesn't believe that an attack on the American embassy in Montenegro "is part of an ongoing threat".

The US media quoted the US State Department spokeswoman, Heather Nauert, as saying that consular operations at the embassy were closed on Thursday for the day "out of an abundance of caution" but that the embassy remains open for emergency services.

FBI spokeswoman Nora Scheland also said that "the FBI is providing assistance to our partners in Montenegro as part of their investigation".

Montenegro's Higher State Prosecution, which is leading the investigation, also said that so far there is no indication that the attack was a terrorism.

The attacker was identified by the police under initials D.J., but his family and friends confirmed that he was 43-year-old war veteran Dalibor Jaukovic.

Jaukovic, a Montenegrin citizen born in Serbia, fought with Yugoslav Army forces in Kosovo in 1999 and was decorated by Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic.

Local media said he had expressed anti-NATO sentiments, citing a comment he posted on Facebook.

Montenegrin police said they and the FBI are checking Jaukovic's accounts on social networks, and investgating whether he acted alone or had accomplices.

"He had no criminal background... we are still checking for the motives," the chief of the criminal police, Enes Bakovic, told a press conference on Thursday.

US and Montenegrin officials said no one was injured in the attack.

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