Police said to be target of Budapest blast that injured 2 officers

Hungary's police were the target of a homemade shrapnel bomb that rocked central Budapest late on Saturday, injuring two officers, the national police chief said Sunday.

Karoly Papp described the incident as a criminal case of attempted homicide, adding there was no sign that the attack had been carried out by a foreign militant organization, without ruling it out explicitly.

He said the attack was clearly directed at police, who were known to patrol the area, on one of the busiest thoroughfares in central Budapest on a Saturday night.

'Someone tried to execute my officers'

"Without any doubt, we have concluded that our police were the target of the attack. We consider that this attack was against the entire Hungarian police," said Pass. "Someone tried to execute my officers."

The device was detonated shortly after 10:30 p.m. It was not immediately clear why police would be the target. Both the officers needed surgery, with a female officer in a critical condition on Sunday and her male colleague stable.

Police have identified a suspect who was at the scene before the blast and asked for citizens' help to find him.

Suspect in his 20s

Papp gave a description of the suspect, who he said was a 20- to 25-year-old male in blue jeans and a hat. He gave no details on the suspect's nationality.

Hungary's disaster management agency said Saturday that two people had been injured in an explosion at a ground-floor shop and taken to a hospital.

Police and rescue personnel cordoned off the area late Saturday near the Franz Liszt Academy of Music.

The blast did not set off any fires at the scene. No information was available about what caused the explosion.