The US Secret Service has intercepted suspicious packages containing potential explosive devices mailed to former US First Lady Hillary Clinton and former US President Barack Obama, a statement by the Secret Service informed on Wednesday.

"Late on October 23, 2018, the Secret Service recovered a single package addressed to Former First Lady Hillary Clinton in Westchester County, New York. Early this morning, October 24, 2018, a second package addressed to the residence of Former President Barack Obama was intercepted by Secret Service personnel in Washington, DC," the document states.

"The packages were immediately identified during routine mail screening procedures as potential explosive devices and were appropriately handled as such. Both packages were intercepted prior to being delivered to their intended location. The protectees did not receive the packages nor were they at risk of receiving them," the US Secret Service noted, adding that they have launched a criminal investigation "that will leverage all available federal, state, and local resources."

Earlier, the New York Times daily reported that a Secret Service employee who screens mail for Hillary Clinton found an explosive device addressed to her late on Tuesday. The newspaper claims that the intercepted devices were similar to the one found on Monday at the home of billionaire liberal philanthropist George Soros.

Soros owns a house north of New York City. According to the New York Times, a suspicious device was found near his home on Monday, constructed from "a length of pipe about six inches long filled with explosive powder." No one was injured in the incident, and bomb squad technicians later detonated the bomb.