Two packages detonated
on Thursday at two government buildings in the U.S. state of Maryland, but
caused no serious injuries, state authorities said.

Law enforcement officials are pictured entering the Maryland Department of Transport headquarters in Hanover, Maryland, in this still image taken from a video released on January 6, 2011. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

One package detonated at
the Jeffrey Building in Annapolis, which houses agencies including the
Governor’s Office of Homeland Security, the Department of Veterans Affairs and
the office of the Secretary of State, while the other was at the Maryland
Department of Transportation headquarters in Hanover, Maryland State Police
spokesman Greg Shipley told reporters.

The incidents occurred at
around noon. The book-size packages gave off smoke and odor when they were
opened by employees in the mail rooms of the two buildings.

Several employees at both
sites of the incidents reported singed fingers, said Shipley. Some of them were
transported to hospital as a precaution, but no serious injuries were reported.

This was no serious
physical harm, no property damage, and could not be compared to significant
explosion, Shipley said.

No explosive material has
been found at the current stage of investigation, he said, adding that all
Maryland state buildings were quarantining mails.

Authorities have shut down
mail room operations in government offices across the state, and state police
and the FBI were involved in the investigation, local media reported.

VietNamNet/Xinhuanet