Reports: Blast at Swiss Embassy wounds 1

[December 23, 2010]  ROME (AP) -- A package exploded Thursday at the Swiss Embassy in Rome, wounding one person, news reports said.

A person answering the phone at the embassy said she couldn't confirm the reports by the ANSA and Apcom news agencies.

The reports said the explosion occurred as soon as the package was opened by an embassy staffer who was subsequently injured and taken to the hospital.

There have been growing concerns in Europe about holiday season attacks following a suicide bombing in Sweden and security services' fears of an assault on a European city modeled on the deadly shooting spree in Mumbai, India.

On Tuesday, there was a bomb scare in the Rome subway after authorities discovered a suspicious package with wires and powder under a subway seat. The device was fake, with police determining there was no trigger mechanism and that the powder was inert, cement-like material.

[Associated Press]

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