London police carried out a controlled explosion on Friday after discovering a suspicious package near the US embassy in the British capital. They blocked at least one road near the embassy compound, located on the south bank of the River Thames in the Nine Elms district.
“We can confirm that the ‘loud bang’ reported in the area a short time ago was a controlled explosion carried out by officers,” London Metropolitan Police said in a statement posted online.
The embassy said in its own social media post that police had closed a road near the building out of “an abundance of caution.”
Mina Kim/Reuters
The American Embassy in London opened in early 2018 in its new premises, just outside the city center. It sits on a sprawling campus, relatively far from most public roads and surrounded by security fortifications.
