US embassy employee takes empty mine to Moscow airport

MOSCOW -- An employee at the US embassy to Russia attempted to bring a bomb with a fuse, but without explosives, in the luggage into the Sheremetyevo International Airport in Moscow on Saturday in deliberate provocation, local media reported, citing the Russian Foreign Ministry.

During a security check at the entrance of Terminal D, an object resembling a landmine was found in the employee's luggage. Experts identified it as mine with a fuse but without explosives, although their traces were present inside the mine body.

The employee said he acquired the empty mine for his personal collection and continued his trip to New York after the seizure of the mine, according to Sputnik and Tass reports.

The Russian Foreign Ministry believes that the United States was testing Russia's security systems from inside, in addition to its regular military maneuvers near Russian borders that test the security systems from outside.

The ministry called the US embassy employee's action a deliberate provocation.

The Russian Interior Ministry's unit for the security of the Sheremetyevo airport has informed the US embassy of the incident, and the Russian Foreign Ministry said it expects an explanation.