US authorities: The Nashville bombing was a deliberate act

Local authorities in Tennessee, USA, said that an explosion occurred early Friday morning (local time) on Christmas Day in downtown Nashville, explaining that it was an "intentional explosion" and that the explosion resulted in the injury of three people.

Police said the blast on Friday was apparently caused by a car explosion.

Police officers encountered the car in the pre-dawn hours with a recording stating that it would explode within 15 minutes.

Police were able to evacuate people who were close before the car exploded, although at least one policeman and two other people were injured.

Several US media outlets, including CBS, reported that police had found what appeared to be human remains near the site of the explosion, citing law enforcement sources.

Federal agencies intervened to lead the investigation and asked citizens to provide any evidence to reveal the cause of the explosion.

So far, there have been no indications about the motives behind the bombing.

Matthew Foster of the FBI said the blast was "a tragic event on Christmas Day".

He emphasized that his team "is making use of all its capabilities to search for the person responsible for what happened here today."

Witnesses told local media that they felt the buildings shake and saw cars burning as a result of the first explosion.

Several buildings were badly damaged in the area.

The Nashville Metro Police Department said earlier that "it appears to be a deliberate act. Law enforcement has closed down downtown streets, as investigations continue." 

Iraqi photographs and video footage from the scene of the accident showed severe damage to nearby buildings and parked cars, extending to a number of streets from the blast point. 

The White House said President Donald Trump and his Cabinet members had been briefed on the situation.

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