Suspicious letter sent to German president Joachim Gauck

Berlin: German authorities on Friday destroyed a letter addressed to the country`s president that was suspected of containing explosives. A spokesman for President Joachim Gauck`s office said the letter was found during routine checks on mail in the morning. Experts then decided to carry out a controlled detonation of the letter in the park outside the president`s Bellevue palace in downtown Berlin.

Germany`s Federal Criminal Police Office, which was responsible for the operation, confirmed a letter suspected of containing explosives had been destroyed but said whether it actually contained explosives is still under investigation. The presidential office spokesman said there was no danger to Gauck, Germany`s largely ceremonial head of state, who was not on the premises at the time. He spoke on condition of anonymity in line with department rules. It was not immediately clear where the letter came from. In 2010, a mail bomb was intercepted at Chancellor Angela Merkel`s office part of a spate of parcel bombings for which a Greek anarchist group claimed responsibility. PTI