 ZAGREB, Croatia — A man threw an explosive device onto the grounds of the United States Embassy in Montenegro, doing only minor damage, and then killed himself with another explosive, the Montenegrin police said on Thursday. He said that the assailant was a citizen of Montenegro who was born in 1976 in the town of Kraljevo, in neighboring Serbia, and that he had no criminal record. The U.S. State Department said embassy officials were working with police to identify the assailant and was working internally to confirm all staff are safe. Montenegro borders the Adriatic Sea in southeastern Europe and its capital is Podgorica. It joined NATO last year despite strong opposition from its traditional Slavic ally Russia. The U.S. established diplomatic ties with the tiny Balkan state in 2006 after it split from much larger Serbia.
– The offices at the US Embassy in Montenegro were closed for the night late Wednesday when the attack occurred: An unidentified man threw a grenade over the compound's wall and then took his own life using a second explosive device, reports the AP. He was the only casualty, and NPR reports no motive has been disclosed, nor is it clear if the intention was to carry out a suicide attack. A State Department rep says the building, located in the capital city of Podgorica, was not affected, with Radio Free Europe reporting the damage was limited to a crater caused by the explosive. Americans have been warned to steer clear of the embassy until further notice. The New York Times calls Montenegro "one of the world's youngest nations": It was once part of Yugoslavia and declared its independence from Serbia in 2006.