Berlin probes white powder letters to embassies

Police in Berlin said on Tuesday that letters containing an unknown white powder were mailed to the embassies of the United States and Israel in the German capital last month.

The letters have since been analyzed by experts who concluded the substance was harmless, said police spokeswoman Heidi Vogt.

The first letter was sent to the Israeli embassy on July 24, according to police spokeswoman Kerstin Usmer. The second was sent to the US embassy two days later, she said.

The same person is suspected of sending both letters and is the subject of two ongoing investigations.

Other diplomatic missions for European and Asian countries reported getting similar mail.

Unidentified powder mailed to German courthouses

Last year, several courthouses around Germany said they had received envelopes containing a suspicious powder. Several weeks later, the headquarters of the Borussia Dortmund soccer team was evacuated after an envelope containing white powder was discovered. A dubious-looking package was also sent to Real Madrid's president Florentino Perez. 

Letters with white powder and razor blades were sent to Chancellor Angela Merkel and other politicians just before last September's German elections.

kw/rc (AP, DPA)

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