White House area shut down after van breaches security barricade: police

A van smashed into a security barricade near the White House early Wednesday, police said, forcing a shutdown of the area in downtown Washington during morning rush hour.

Police did not immediately release information on the driver of the vehicle that crashed into a gate at Lafayette Square, just north of the White House and typically filled with tourists and office workers.

Washington has been under heightened security amid the US-Israel war on Iran.