Police in Montenegro say the man who threw a bomb into the US embassy compound and then killed himself had no criminal record and that the attack was not an act of terrorism.

Police formally identified the suspect by his initials, DJ, in line with an earlier police source identifying him as ex-soldier Dalibor Jaukovic.

Montenegro US Embassy
Police block off the area around the US embassy in Podgorica after the attack (Risto Bozovic/AP)

Police say Jaukovic was a Montenegrin citizen born in neighbouring Serbia.

They said Montenegrin police and the FBI are checking Jaukovic’s accounts on social networks.

He posted on Facebook a photo of an army decoration apparently signed by former Serbian strongman Slobodan Milosevic and openly opposed Montenegro’s membership in Nato last year.

Police say they are still investigating Jaukovic’s motives and whether he had acted alone. They say security has been increased around foreign embassies in Montenegro.

Montenegro US Embassy
The US embassy compound in Montenegro’s capital, Podgorica (Risto Bozovic/AP)

A family friend, Milutin Dragicevic, said Jaukovic was “a good patriot” during the 1999 Nato air war against Yugoslavia, then comprised of Serbia and Montenegro.

He added: “I don’t know what might have driven him to do this.”