Bomb targets far-right group
A powerful time bomb detonated early yesterday outside the central Athens offices of the extreme-right Chryssi Avgi (Golden Dawn) organization, causing significant damage but no injuries. An unidentified caller telephoned the daily Eleftherotypia newspaper 25 minutes before the blast, prompting police to evacuate the building, which is on busy Socratous Street, near Omonia Square, as well as a neighboring hotel and surrounding roads. The device detonated at 8.46 a.m., blowing out the windows of adjacent apartments and shocking passers-by. Speaking to Skai Television minutes after the blast occurred, a reporter said that the explosion had been heard several blocks away. According to police, the bomb had been hidden in a shoe box wrapped in a plastic trash bag and placed in the corridor outside the offices of the far-right group on the fifth floor of the apartment block. Bomb disposal experts yesterday were examining the remnants of the device gathered from the scene of the blast in a bid to find leads to the perpetrators. There had been no claim of responsibility by late last night and police did not give give any indication of their suspicions. According to Skai Television, it transpired after the blast that a bedridden resident of the apartment block had not been evacuated along with everyone else prior to the blast. The man, whose apartment is on a different floor to the offices of the far-right organization, was reportedly unharmed.
