A parcel bomb has exploded at the Chilean embassy in Rome, shortly after an employee at the Swiss embassy was badly wounded by another exploding package. The attacks recall parcel bombs sent to European capitals in November.
Packages exploded in the Swiss and Chilean embassies in Rome on Thursday, leaving two people injured, at least one seriously, according to Italy's ANSA news service. The blasts come two days after police found a dud explosive device on a subway in Rome.
A wounded 53-year-old Swiss employee is at risk of losing both his hands, though his life is not in danger, according to wire reports. A spokesman for the carabinieri paramilitary police in Rome, speaking anonymously to the Associated Press, said the man was injured at the Swiss Embassy while trying to open a package, which exploded.
An employee at the Chilean embassy was also injured, according to Reuters, in a blast about two hours after the first incident.
Italian police have ordered a sweep of all embassies in Rome. "We're working with bomb disposal experts to ensure that no packages can be opened by inexperienced people," Francesco Tagliente, Rome's chief of police, told Reuters.
Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini reacted to the first explosion with a statement: "We express full solidarity with the Swiss ambassador and all diplomatic staff, targeted by a deplorable act of violence that merits the firmest condemnation. We hope the injured embassy employee can make a full recovery."
No one claimed immediate responsibility, but a series of more than a dozen parcel bombs were sent to embassies and government ministries around Europe in November, including one to the German Chancellery in Berlin and one each to the Swiss and Russian embassies in Athens.
Those attacks were blamed by Athens officials on far-left anarchist groups within Greece. Athens police arrested six people in connection with those blasts on December 4.
Heightened Tension
But the explosions in Rome comes amid heightened terror concerns around Europe. German Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière issued a warning in late November that Germany could be the target of an Islamist attack during the holiday season, after US officials started to warn about plans for a Mumbai-style raid by gunmen somewhere in Europe.
Two parcel bombs claimed by a wing of al-Qaida traveled on commercial flights from Yemen to Europe in October before they were detected -- addressed to synagogues in Chicago. They did not explode.
And a suspected bomb was found on a subway train in Rome on Tuesday, though it reportedly was a dud. It was in a box with cables, batteries and antennas, according to Reuters. However, "black powder contained in metal tubes in the suspect device," said the carabinieri in a statement on Tuesday, was "inert."
Please don't be Middle Eastern. 
