Ambrosio Spinola
12-12-2005, 09:27 AM
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=worldNews&storyID=2005-12-12T085438Z_01_MAR217980_RTRUKOC_0_US-GREECE-BLAST.xml&archived=False
ATHENS (Reuters) - A bomb explosion rocked Greece's Economy Ministry in central Athens on Monday, injuring two people and causing extensive damage, police said.
The blast blew out nearby shop fronts, damaged cars and cafes and shattered windows in the business district of the city shortly before the morning rush hour.
The ministry, located above a post office in the city's main Syntagma Square and about 100 metres from parliament, was closed at the time of the blast, the second such attack in six months.
"Initial evidence shows the explosion was triggered by a home-made explosive device placed outside the ministry," a police spokeswoman said. "There are two people injured slightly in the blast."
A police source later said the bomb had been left on a motorcycle parked close to the building.
It was not immediately clear who was behind the blast. Police said there had been two warning calls to a Greek newspaper about half an hour before the explosion.
"There is a bomb outside the Economy Ministry and this is not a joke," said the first caller to the daily Eleftherotypia newspaper at 0240 GMT, 27 minutes before the explosion.
FLYING GLASS
Police sealed off the area. The two people injured by flying glass shards were beyond the police cordon, officials said.
It was the second bomb attack at a government building in six months. In June, a guerrilla group calling itself "Revolutionary Struggle" bombed the Labour Ministry, causing no injuries but seriously damaging the building.
While initially saying the explosive device was made up of about 10 medium-sized gas canisters, police later said it was a bomb triggered by an alarm clock.
ATHENS (Reuters) - A bomb explosion rocked Greece's Economy Ministry in central Athens on Monday, injuring two people and causing extensive damage, police said.
The blast blew out nearby shop fronts, damaged cars and cafes and shattered windows in the business district of the city shortly before the morning rush hour.
The ministry, located above a post office in the city's main Syntagma Square and about 100 metres from parliament, was closed at the time of the blast, the second such attack in six months.
"Initial evidence shows the explosion was triggered by a home-made explosive device placed outside the ministry," a police spokeswoman said. "There are two people injured slightly in the blast."
A police source later said the bomb had been left on a motorcycle parked close to the building.
It was not immediately clear who was behind the blast. Police said there had been two warning calls to a Greek newspaper about half an hour before the explosion.
"There is a bomb outside the Economy Ministry and this is not a joke," said the first caller to the daily Eleftherotypia newspaper at 0240 GMT, 27 minutes before the explosion.
FLYING GLASS
Police sealed off the area. The two people injured by flying glass shards were beyond the police cordon, officials said.
It was the second bomb attack at a government building in six months. In June, a guerrilla group calling itself "Revolutionary Struggle" bombed the Labour Ministry, causing no injuries but seriously damaging the building.
While initially saying the explosive device was made up of about 10 medium-sized gas canisters, police later said it was a bomb triggered by an alarm clock.