Bombs found at Barack Obama’s office and Hillary Clinton’s home

The US Secret Service said on Wednesday that its agents intercepted packages containing “possible explosive devices” addressed to former President Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. The CNN office in New York has also been evacuated after a suspicious package containing a similar device was found.

BREAKING: Secret Service: Package identified as `potential explosive device' sent to former President Barack Obama in Washington.

— The Associated Press (@AP) October 24, 2018

The US agency said neither Clinton nor Obama received the packages, and neither was at risk of receiving them because of screening procedures. It says the devices were discovered late Tuesday and early Wednesday.

A US official told The Associated Press that a “functional explosive device” was found during screening at Bill and Hillary Clintons’ suburban New York home. The official said investigators believe the explosive is linked to one found Monday at the compound of liberal billionaire George Soros.

The Secret Service said a second package was addressed to Obama and was intercepted in Washington at his office.

Just an hour later, US news network CNN announced on its screens that it had evacuated its New York bureau over a suspicious package similar to those addressed to Obama and Clinton.

New York police confirmed to AFP that its officers had been called to the Time Warner Center, where the CNN bureau in the US financial capital is located, to investigate reports of a suspicious package.

The motive of the would-be bomber or bombers remained unclear, one of the officials said, adding that there had not yet been any claim of responsibility.

According to the New York Times, the devices sent to the home of the Clintons and Obama’s office were similar to the one found at the home of Soros on Monday. That device was constructed from a length of pipe about six inches long. It was filled with an explosive powder and it was “proactively detonated” by bomb squad technicians.

An official said investigators believe the explosives to be linked. The official wasn’t authorized to publicly discuss an ongoing investigation and spoke on condition of anonymity.

The explosive device sent to the Clintons was discovered early Wednesday morning at their home in Chappaqua, New York. Police in New Castle, New York — who cover Chappaqua — say they assisted the FBI, Secret Service and Westchester County authorities in “the investigation of a suspicious package.”