Makeshift bomb exploded outside courier service in central Athens
Posted by Arms Control Center in TERRORISM, tags: athens, Conspiracy of Fire Cells, Conspiracy of Fire Nuclei, courier service, Greece, IED, improvised explosive devices, makeshift bombAn improvised explosive device exploded shortly after 10.15 p.m. on Sunday outside a branch of a courier service in Pangrati, central Athens. The blast on Astydamantos Street is believed to have been caused by a gas canister. Police and fire-fighters arrived within minutes of the blast. No injuries were reported, though the building in which the ground-floor courier office is housed suffered minor damage. EKEO’s preliminary findings point out to a gas-canister IED or one made of a small quantity of gunpower from fireworks (sticks of dynamite are also considered). Police are investigating the incident and suspect that the explosion is related to the Conspiracy of Fire Nuclei (Greek: Συνωμοσία των Πυρήνων της Φωτιάς, Synomosía Pyrínon Tis Fotiás –SPF), also translated as Conspiracy of Fire Cells or Conspiracy of Cells of Fire, is a radical anarchist organization based in Greece. In November 2010 two more suspects were arrested while attempting to mail parcel bombs to embassies and EU leaders and organizations, through the same courier service as the one where Sunday’s explosion occurred. On November 1, a package addressed to the Mexican Embassy in Athens exploded in the office of a courier company, scorching the hands of the employee who handled it. A second package, containing a similar bomb (a small quantity of gunpowder from fireworks) addressed to offices of Eurojust in the Netherlands, was destroyed in a controlled explosion. Two suspects were arrested after police cordoned off the affected area. Both were wearing wigs and armed with Glock 9-mm pistols, and one was wearing a bulletproof vest. They were in possession of two other explosive parcels, one addressed to French President Nicolas Sarkozy and the other to the Belgian Embassy.
Sources
http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_wsite1_1_10/03/2013_486712
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conspiracy_of_Fire_Nuclei