Minor Blast At UK Consulate In NYC
Small Grenades Explode Outside NY Building As Brits Vote
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Play CBS Video Video New York Blasted Awake Two small grenades exploded in a planter outside the building that houses the British Consulate in New York. Kelly Cobiella reports on the ensuing investigation and reaction in Manhattan.
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Video Explosion At UK Consulate Two small grenades exploded outside the British Consulate in midtown Manhattan early Thursday, causing damage to the building but injuring no one. Alison Harmelin reports.
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Video British Consulate Bomb Scare There were two small blasts at the British Consulate in New York early Thursday morning, as the British were headed to the polls for national elections. CBS News' Kelly Cobiella reports.
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New York City Police crime scene unit detectives place identifying markers in the street in front of the building where explosion occurred. (AP)
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Mayor Michael Bloomberg, left, discusses the incident at a news conference. (AP)
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Photo Essay NYC Bomb Blasts Two small explosives target the British Consulate in midtown Manhattan.
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Offices of other foreign diplomatic representatives were checked as a precaution and nothing was found, Kelly said. Security videos in the area were being reviewed, he said.
In London, a Foreign Office spokeswoman, asked whether British authorities believed the blast was terror-related, said only: "Investigations are ongoing."
"We're not speculating about whether it's connected to the election," she added. Calls to the British Embassy in Washington were not immediately returned.
The blast hit as the polls opened for what at day's end turned out to be another victory for the Labour Party and British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who will serve a third term in office.
CBS News Correspondent Steve Holt reports that top officials in Britain have been warning for some time that election day might prove a tempting target for terrorists. But security expert Bob Strang told Holt that the explosion in New York may not be what the police were fearing.
Holt added that there's no indication of the blast affecting voting in Britain.
The 14-story glass and metal building, on 3rd Avenue at 51st Street less than a mile from the United Nations headquarters, has retail shops on the lower level.
The closure of streets around the site caused some rush hour disruptions. For a few hours, trains on one subway line skipped the stop close to the site.
In Chicago, police closed a portion of Michigan Avenue near the British Consulate for about 30 minutes to search the area as a precaution, police spokeswoman Laura Kubiak said.
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