Czechs seek envoy blast death clues

Prague: Probe into explosion which killed ambassador could take days

Czech authorities are working to identify the explosive that killed the Palestinian ambassador who died after opening an embassy safe.

They want to know what caused the substance to explode and why it was being kept in the safe.

Ambassador Jamal al-Jamal, 56, died on Wednesday of massive injuries.

Pavel Kolar, the head of Prague’s Institute of Criminology, said yesterday that the investigation could take several days.

Meanwhile, Palestinian Embassy spokesman Nabil El-Fahel told Czech radio the safe had been in regular use, contradicting Pales- tinian Foreign Minister Riad Malki’s claim that the safe had been untouched for more than t wo decades.

The embassy recently moved to a new complex, and the safe was in the ambassador’s residence.

Czech police say nothing has been found to suggest the diplomat had been a victim of a crime.

Police spokeswoman Andrea Zoulova said yesterday that it appeared that the door of the safe had been booby-trapped.

Yesterday, Ms Zoulova said nothing had been found to suggest the diplomat had been a victim of a crime. The country’s counterintelligence service, BIS, also said it had no such evidence.

She declined to give any further details about the safe. Foreign Minister Malki said no foul play was suspected.

A team of Palestinian experts is expected to take part in the investigation.

Security analyst Andor Sandor said it is very unusual to protect any embassy documents by such excessive force.

During their search, police discovered one more safe at the embassy complex but no other explosives were found.