Hungary police say Budapest blast was directed at officers

By Marton Dunai

BUDAPEST, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Hungary's police were the target of a home-made shrapnel bomb that rocked central Budapest late on Saturday, injuring two officers, the national police chief said on 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 organisation, but without ruling it out explicitly.

"We consider this attack occurred against the entire Hungarian police. Someone tried to execute my officers," Papp told a news conference.

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. 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. Papp gave a description of the suspect, who he said was a 20-25 year-old male in blue jeans and a hat.

He gave no details on the suspect's nationality.

There was confusion about the cause of the blast on Saturday night, with initial reports suggesting it was a gas explosion.

Police cordoned off a wide area around the Oktogon square and told residents to leave buildings nearest the blast, local media reported. The normally busy intersection was packed with witnesses, including tourists.