Monaco Government Says Attack Used Parcel Bomb

The Monaco government has stated that the recent explosion in the city-state was caused by a device hidden inside a package or parcel. Citing police sources, Le Figaro newspaper reported on Monday that three people were injured in the powerful blast, two of them critically. CCTV footage reportedly shows a man leaving a backpack at the entrance of a building as another person was entering. Minister of State Christophe Mirmand described the incident as a terrorist attack, the first in the country’s history. “A powerful explosion occurred in the Principality near Place des Moulins, triggered by an explosive device concealed in a package,” the government wrote on its X account on Monday. The government confirmed three people were injured in the incident, including a child. Radio network franceinfo reported that the suspected perpetrator was recorded by surveillance cameras in Monaco and later spotted in the French commune of Beausoleil. Investigators are currently analysing video footage and examining the explosive content, backpack fragments, and DNA samples. According to the report, French authorities have dispatched police personnel from the Alpes-Maritimes department to assist with the investigation. The French anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office has not yet taken over the case, while the DGSI intelligence agency continues to monitor the situation closely. News channel BFMTV previously reported, citing sources close to the investigation, that Ukrainian conglomerate Vadim Yermolayev, along with his wife and child, were allegedly among the victims injured in the attack. Monaco police have declined to confirm the nationalities of the victims to the RIA Novosti news agency.