Journalists in Ecuador have come under attack with explosive devices sent through the mail and disguised as letter envelopes.

An editor in one of the newsrooms was injured when he opened the letter bomb, the BBC reported, quoted by "Darik".

According to him, the explosive device looked like a USB device.

The journalist plugged it into his computer and it exploded.

The specific news outlets that were the target of the attack have not been named.

However, the letters were sent to at least five different organizations in Ecuador.

Interior Minister Juan Zapata said all the devices were sent from the same city.

Three of them were sent to the media in Guayaquil, and two to the capital, Quito.

An explosion in Afghanistan kills one and injures children and journalists

Ecuador's attorney general has confirmed that a terrorism investigation has been launched.

Police detonated one of the devices sent to TC Television.

The head of Ecuador's forensic service said they contained "military-grade" explosives.

In the other editions, the letter bombs did not explode or were not opened.

 The government condemned the attacks, describing freedom of expression as a "right that must be respected."

Ecuador has seen an increase in violence, which President Guillermo Lasso says is the result of competition between drug-trafficking gangs for territory and control.

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