fionntan
2nd November 2010, 14:27
Deafening Bomb Blast rocks Swiss embassy in Greek capital Athens
A suspected bomb has exploded at the Swiss embassy in the Greek capital Athens, a day after four parcel bombs were found in the city.
Police said the device was thrown into a courtyard at the embassy and no casualties have been reported.
Controlled explosions were also carried out on packages at the Bulgarian embassy and outside parliament.
The BBC's Malcolm Brabant in Athens says it appears to be a co-ordinated attack by an extreme left-wing group.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy was among the intended recipients of one of four devices discovered on Monday, police said.
Another of the bombs, addressed to the Mexican embassy in Athens, exploded in the offices of a private courier company, injuring an employee. The other two parcels were addressed to the Belgian and Dutch embassies.
Two men were arrested in connection with the devices.
'Deafening blast'
On Tuesday, a police spokesman said an object was thrown into the Swiss embassy courtyard and a "deafening blast" was heard.
Police also sealed off the Bulgarian embassy where a controlled explosion was carried out on a suspicious package.
Another controlled explosion was carried out on a package in a delivery van outside the Greek parliament. The package was addressed to the Chilean embassy, police said.
Terrorism experts suspect the co-ordinated campaign is the work of either the well known far-left 'urban guerilla' organisation - Revolutionary Struggle (RS) or a smaller grouping called the Conspiracy of the Cells of Fire, which is trying to spark revolution in Greece during the current period of austerity.
The parcel bombs have raised anxiety levels in Greece in the run up to this weekend's vital local elections, our correspondent says.
The elections are seen as a referendum on the socialist government's handling of the economic crisis and Prime Minister George Papandreou has warned he may call a general election if his party is soundly defeated.
BBC News
A suspected bomb has exploded at the Swiss embassy in the Greek capital Athens, a day after four parcel bombs were found in the city.
Police said the device was thrown into a courtyard at the embassy and no casualties have been reported.
Controlled explosions were also carried out on packages at the Bulgarian embassy and outside parliament.
The BBC's Malcolm Brabant in Athens says it appears to be a co-ordinated attack by an extreme left-wing group.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy was among the intended recipients of one of four devices discovered on Monday, police said.
Another of the bombs, addressed to the Mexican embassy in Athens, exploded in the offices of a private courier company, injuring an employee. The other two parcels were addressed to the Belgian and Dutch embassies.
Two men were arrested in connection with the devices.
'Deafening blast'
On Tuesday, a police spokesman said an object was thrown into the Swiss embassy courtyard and a "deafening blast" was heard.
Police also sealed off the Bulgarian embassy where a controlled explosion was carried out on a suspicious package.
Another controlled explosion was carried out on a package in a delivery van outside the Greek parliament. The package was addressed to the Chilean embassy, police said.
Terrorism experts suspect the co-ordinated campaign is the work of either the well known far-left 'urban guerilla' organisation - Revolutionary Struggle (RS) or a smaller grouping called the Conspiracy of the Cells of Fire, which is trying to spark revolution in Greece during the current period of austerity.
The parcel bombs have raised anxiety levels in Greece in the run up to this weekend's vital local elections, our correspondent says.
The elections are seen as a referendum on the socialist government's handling of the economic crisis and Prime Minister George Papandreou has warned he may call a general election if his party is soundly defeated.
BBC News