The bomb squad has rushed to Edinburgh Central Mosque after a "suspicious item" was found.
A cordon was put in place around the place of worship on Potterrow, with Nicolson Square also closed off to traffic and pedestrians.
A statement from Edinburgh Central Mosque has revealed bags were discovered inside the premises this morning, with police alerted to the incident at 9.30am. An Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EDO) unit was called to the scene.
A post by the mosque on Facebook states: "Edinburgh Central Mosque will be closed today for the next few hours and until further notice. This is due to a couple of bags that we discovered inside the premises early this morning.
"The Police have been notified about the bags and following a review of CCTV they have advised that we evacuate the building and stop any activities until they have removed the bags.
"We do not know at this moment how long the process could take, however will post another update as soon as the bags have been removed and the police has concluded that it is safe to reopen the building."
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “Around 9.30am on Tuesday, 3 January, police were called to a report of a suspicious item found within a Mosque on Potterrow, Edinburgh.
“A cordon has been put in place as a precaution and the EOD are in attendance.”
An updated statement from police confirmed that, while the bags were destroyed, they posed no risk to the Mosque or wider public.
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “Around 9.30am on Tuesday, 3 January, police were called to a report of a suspicious item found within a Mosque on Potterrow, Edinburgh.
“A cordon was put in place as a precaution. The EOD attended and carried out a controlled explosion, however it has been established that the item posed no risk to the public and was innocent in nature.
“The cordon has now been lifted. Police would like to thank the public for their patience and understanding as officers attended the scene.”
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