| All three bombs exploded
within half an hour of each other outside a police station south
of the city centre. A national newspaper received an
anonymous phone call warning about the attack just minutes
before the first device exploded
in the early hours of the morning. A fourth device was found by
the bomb squad and destroyed in a controlled
explosion. The whole area has been cordoned
off and the anti-terrorism unit of the police has begun an
investigation.
So far, the police have not said what kind of bombs were used
in the attack and no one has admitted responsibility. But suspicion
is bound to fall on radical left-wing
organisations which have carried out similar attacks in
the past.
Last September, two bombs exploded in the precinct of the main
law courts in Athens, also early in the morning. The Greek authorities
have launched a crackdown on left-wing
extremists in recent years because of
concerns about security during the Olympics. The leaders
of one organisation responsible for a series of murders and bombings
in recent decades were jailed last December and are serving long
prison sentences. Members of another smaller group are currently
on trial.
|
|
|
|
an anonymous phone call: when the
person who makes the call does not give their name
device: here, bomb or weapon
exploded: detonated, went off
a controlled explosion: when
the police make a bomb safe by using a small explosion
cordoned off: if an area has
been cordoned off, the police have stopped people entering it
by using barriers and tape
suspicion is bound to fall on: people will naturally
think that a particular group is responsible
radical left-wing organizations:
groups with very strong socialist, communist or Marxist beliefs
a crackdown on: when the police
take strong action against a particular group or against a particular
kind of crime
extremists: people whose political
or religious beliefs and actions are not shared by most people
and who can be prepared to use violence to try to change society
concerns: worries
|
