Bomb that exploded prematurely in Athens would have caused extensive damage, Greek minister says

Greece’s curate of national protection says an improvised explosive that exploded prematurely successful a cardinal Athens flat past week, would person caused extended harm to immoderate intended target

ATHENS, Greece -- An improvised explosive that exploded prematurely successful a cardinal Athens flat past week, sidesplitting a man and severely wounding a female successful nan apartment, would person caused extended harm to immoderate intended target, Greece’s Minister of Citizen Protection said Monday.

Last Thursday’s detonation demolished overmuch of a third-floor apartment successful nan Athens vicinity of Ambelokipi and damaged neighboring apartments. Michalis Chrisochoidis, whose ministry is responsible for nan police, said municipal authorities had declared nan full residential building uninhabitable owed to harm from nan blast.

The intended target of nan explosive and nan planned timing of nan onslaught are still unclear. Greece’s anti-terrorism squad is investigating nan incident. Police searching nan flat wreckage, different 3 homes and a conveyance seized a number of items, including 2 handguns, ammunition, mobile phones, laptops, flash drives, SIM cards, hand-written notes, wigs and full-face masks, authorities said.

“It was a monstrous explosive pinch concentrated explosive material,” Chrisochoidis said during a Monday news programme connected section Skai television. “It would person caused awesome destruction, because it was very powerful.”

Chrisochoidis said those progressive were young group who appeared to aspire to go a caller procreation of home terrorists successful Greece.

Authorities announced complete nan play that nan man killed successful nan detonation had been identified arsenic a 36-year-old Greek. He was believed to person been putting nan explosive together erstwhile it detonated accidentally.

As portion of nan investigation, constabulary person arrested a 31-year-old man, arsenic good arsenic nan 33-year-old female who was wounded successful nan blast and who was being treated successful infirmary nether guard. Police are besides seeking a 30-year-old female who reportedly near nan state earlier nan explosion.

“I deliberation we are dealing pinch an effort of immoderate young group who are aiming to go a 3rd wave, a 3rd generation, of coercion successful Greece,” Chrisochoidis said.

Greece has a decades-long history of far-left extremism involving mini municipality groups. The awesome extremist groups that carried retired a drawstring of assassinations from nan mid-1970s to nan early 2000s person been eradicated and their members imprisoned.

They were succeeded by smaller and little businesslike groups which mostly staged explosive attacks connected symbols of authorities authority and wealth, but person been mostly dormant successful caller years. In December 2023, police defused a bomb that had been planted astatine nan nationalist riot constabulary office aft an anonymous caller phoned a section newspaper and gave a 45-minute informing astir nan explosive device.