Irish military experts have defused an improvised explosive device discovered in an office building in central Dublin. It was found not far from the venue where world leaders had dinner the previous day after arriving in the Irish capital to attend a two-day summit.
According to Irish police, officers received a report on Friday afternoon about a suspicious device discovered in a building on Merrion Square.
On Thursday, participants in the European Political Community summit had dinner across the square. The organization brings together both European Union member states and countries that are not members of the bloc.
Following an initial examination, police called in bomb disposal experts from the Irish Defence Forces. They successfully neutralized the device.
According to a police statement, the device was crude in design but posed a genuine risk of an explosion.
The investigation is ongoing. Authorities have yet to establish when the explosive device was planted and have not disclosed details about its construction or the possible perpetrators' motives.
Armenia's delegation, led by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, also attended the European Political Community summit held in Dublin in recent days.
The incident has attracted attention because the explosive device was discovered in the immediate vicinity of a venue hosting a high-level international meeting. Security at such gatherings concerns not only summit participants but also the areas where they move around or gather.
However, the facts currently available are insufficient to conclude that the incident was an act targeting summit participants. Police have disclosed neither when the device was planted nor the possible perpetrators' motives. Both aspects are crucial to determining whether the incident was connected to the international event or merely coincided with the dates of the summit.
