Bomb explodes in central Athens, Greece; no injuries reported

Saturday, January 9, 2010 

File photo of the Hellenic Parliament, outside which the bomb was detonated.
Image: Gerard McGovern.

Greek police have said that a bomb went off near the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and Parliament in the capital, Athens. No injuries have been reported as-yet. The incident occurred at 20:00 local time (1800 UTC).

The bomb had apparently been planted in a bin in front of the Parliament building, and the detonation was so strong that it could be heard kilometres away. Approximately seventeen minutes before the explosion, Eleftherotypia, a national newspaper, received a phone call about the bomb, and the area had been cordoned off. This caused a major avenue in the centre of the capital to be closed, but prevented injuries when the blast occurred.

The Associated Press reports a history of similar actions by left-wing groups since the death of a fifteen year-old protester at the hands of police. Casualties are rare as telephone warnings are usually issued for bombings, and such bombings often occur late at night. The last year has, however, seen the death of one policeman and several others wounded.

Sources

• AP. "Bomb explodes in central Athens, no one hurt" — Washington Times, January 9, 2010
• DPA. Powerful bomb explodes outside Greek parliament - Summary <broken link> — EarthTimes, January 9, 2010
• "Bomb set off near Greek parliament" — Al Jazeera, January 9, 2010