Extremists behind failed blast
A leftist group calling itself Armed Revolutionary Struggle claimed responsibility for a botched bomb attack on the Environment Ministry early yesterday which caused minor damage but no injuries, according to police. The attack, which took place at around 2 a.m., smashed windows at the ministry’s forestry department in the northern Athens suburb of Psychico. Police sources said only the detonator went off on the homemade explosive device, limiting the impact of the blast. Authorities were warned of the time bomb by an anonymous phone call to a Greek newspaper before the explosion took place. No motive was given for the attack. The blast followed two other warning telephone calls regarding other sites in Athens – a hotel and bus depot – later determined to be hoaxes. It was the second strike in 10 days on the ministry by the group which attacked a tax office in Argyroupolis, southeastern Athens, in January last year.
