A self-styled anarchist group calling itself Nocturnal Arson Insurrection yesterday claimed responsibility for a bomb blast targeting the offices of far-right party LAOS in the coastal suburb of Alimos during yesterday’s early hours. The homemade device, comprising several gas canisters, caused damage when it detonated, but no injuries were reported.

Farmers who had blocked a border post in northern Greece for eight days called off their protest yesterday. The farmers, who closed off the road leading to the border with Bulgaria, were demanding an extension to European Union subsidies for tobacco, as well as the continuation of other handouts. They said they were calling off their action because of the holidays, but that they intend to continue their protests in January.

A 60-year-old prostitute was found dead yesterday in a brothel on Liosion Street, near central Athens, police said. The unnamed woman had been stabbed several times in the neck and chest. Officers suspect that she had been attacked by a robber posing as a customer.

Police from Attica’s drug squad yesterday were questioning two foreign nationals after seizing large quantities of drugs following a raid in Korydallos, near Piraeus. Officers found 5.5 kilos of heroin, 98 grams of cocaine and 50 grams of cannabis in the possession of the two migrants whose ethnic origin was not announced. The raid also revealed sets of scales and several cell phones believed to have been used by the suspects to arrange illicit transactions.

Fifteen people accused of involvement in illegal gambling were being questioned yesterday by police who raided two apartments that had been converted into makeshift gambling dens, one in the western district of Aegaleo and the other in the northwestern neighborhood of Aghioi Anargyroi. Officers confiscated 21,845 euros in cash after searching the two premises.

Greek police reportedly requested cooperation with their Albanian counterparts in tracing a 30-year-old Albanian national believed to have killed a 32-year-old compatriot over a parking space in central Athens in October. The suspect allegedly attacked the 32-year-old outside an Internet cafe which they both frequented. The exact circumstances of the man’s death were unclear.