"The Metropolitan Police Department responded to the 3500 block of International Drive, NW, at approximately 1 p.m. to assist the Secret Service after an individual set himself on fire in front of an embassy on the block," CNN quoted a statement from the Washington Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) as saying.
US Secret Service vehicles block the road leading to the Israeli embassy in Washington DC after a soldier set himself on fire on February 25.
MPD said the man was transported by emergency crews to a local hospital and remains in critical condition.
A spokesman for the Israeli embassy said the man's identity had not yet been determined and "no embassy staff were injured".
Meanwhile, Reuters quoted confirmation from the US Air Force that the self-immolator was an active-duty soldier of this force.
According to Washington DC Fire Department communications officer Vito Maggiolo, by the time firefighters arrived on the scene, the fire had already been extinguished by the US Secret Service.
Image believed to show US soldier self-immolating on February 25
TASK & PURPOSE SCREENSHOT
MPD is working with the U.S. Secret Service and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to investigate further. The motive for the incident is unknown at this time.
In December 2023, a man set himself on fire outside the Israeli consulate in Atlanta, in what police said was a "possibly an act of extreme political protest." Police and fire officials told reporters at a news conference that a Palestinian protest flag was recovered at the scene and that gasoline was used as an incendiary.
US, Hamas react to Israeli Prime Minister 's post-war plan
The incidents took place in the context of Israel's military operation in the Gaza Strip in response to an attack by Hamas forces on October 7, 2023, which left about 1,100 people injured and hundreds taken hostage in the Gaza Strip. Health officials in the Gaza Strip said nearly 30,000 people have died in this land since the war broke out.
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