A group of hooded arsonists staged a pre-dawn attack on a police station in the western Athens district of Aegaleo yesterday, destroying five patrol cars but causing no injuries.

According to witnesses, around 15 youths converged at a spot near the station on their scooters shortly after 5 a.m. One of them then approached the station and hurled a petrol bomb, prompting the on-duty officer to fire his gun in the air as a warning. Undeterred, the youths pelted the station with more firebombs, destroying five patrol cars and two other vehicles before fleeing. There had been no reports of any arrests by late yesterday.

Shortly after the attack, an anonymous caller telephoned a television station saying that a previously unheard-of group calling itself “Flame” was behind the attack and that another hit was planned in the next 24 hours. Later yesterday, another group calling itself “Gang of Conscience,” also previously unknown, claimed to have been behind the attack. Police said they believed the latter claim to be genuine but that the first call had been a hoax.