German Christmas market quit after explosive nail bomb is found

A Christmas market in the German city of Potsdam has been evacuated after an explosive device, believed to be a nail bomb, was delivered to a pharmacy nearby.

Police have now defused the device after having cordoned off the area.
It was first delivered to a pharmacy but was reported as suspicious by an employee who opened it and found wires inside, local media reported.

Police spokesman Torsten Herbst said it was not yet clear exactly what the device - which has been destroyed  was made of.

 Brandenburg's interior minister Karl-Heinz Schroeter said experts were trying to determine whether it was a viable device or an elaborate hoax.

Officers were assessing 'whether the device was actually capable of causing an explosion or not'.
He added: 'There were apparently not only nails but also powder in the canister, and that must be investigated, could it be plaster, or something that doesn't explode or is it something explosive.'
He said results of tests to determine the device's viability may not be completed this evening.
He added: 'We just don't know at this point if this was a device that could have actually exploded or a fake or a test.

'In a tweet, Brandenburg police said earlier: 'The IED-suspicion has been confirmed.
'The affected area in the city center must be cleared. Please pay attention to our announcements via loudspeaker.'

Police added, however, that they could not initially confirm if the bomb was booby trapped.
Roads around the market were also closed.

The bomb was reportedly 20 inches long and 16 inches wide.
Local media said police were alerted around 1:30 p.m.

Police announced on Twitter about three hours later that the object had been defused.
Germany is on high alert for potential terrorist attacks after last year's deadly attack on a Christmas market in Berlin.

Potsdam is about 15 miles southwest of the German capital Berlin.