MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay — Uruguayan police found what appeared to be a simulated explosive device Thursday about 100 meters (yards) from an office complex housing the Israeli Embassy, the Interior Ministry reported.
Police dogs detected the device in a supermarket bag during a routine check around the World Trade Center area, the ministry said Thursday, and the area was quickly evacuated.
The army spokesman, Col. Yamandu Lessa, said the object had detonating cord, which is itself explosive, but no detonator or other element that could set it off.
"Everything indicates that it could be a simulation," he said. "There was also a wireless doorbell that you could find in any supermarket and some cables."
He said army explosives experts used a robot that blasted the device with high-velocity water from a distance, tearing it apart.
He said he did not know if the device was linked to the embassy's presence in one of the Trade Center's towers.
