Spate of attacks
October 30, 2009
A bomb exploded early Friday in the center of Athens, outside the private residence of a Greek member of European Parliament (MEP). The blast caused damage but no injuries, according to reports.
The bomb was left in front of the entrance to the building where Marietta Giannakou, one of 22 Greek MEPs, lives. The bomb, which was inside a bag, damaged vehicles and the entrance of the building.
Giannakou, who was formerly the Greek minister of education and religious affairs, is a member of the center-right New Democracy Party, one of the two main political parties in Greece.
Anonymous warnings were called in to a local newspaper and television station 20 minutes before the bomb detonated.
Smaller explosions were also reported outside the Spanish consulate in Thessaloniki and a car dealership in Athens. No injuries were reported at the sites of these blasts.
Violence on the rise
This spate of attacks comes on the heels of an assault by a group of masked gunmen who opened fire on a police station in Athens, wounding six police and a passerby.
A group calling itself the Organization for the Proletarian Popular Self Defense claimed responsibility for the attack in a letter to a Greek daily newspaper.
The violent attacks have increased since the shooting of a teen in December 2008, and the massive riots that ensued from that event.
Police have been on high alert, stopping and searching vehicles and offering a reward of 600,000 euros ($893,000) for information leading to the arrest of the perpetrators of what they describing as domestic terrorism.
Authorities fear more attacks as the December 6 anniversary of the fatal shooting approaches.
sjt/dpa/Reuters/AP
Editor: Nancy Isenson