Bomb Damages Athens Stock Market

Bomb Damages Athens Stock Market
By ANTHEE CARASSAVA
Copyright by The New York Times
Published: September 2, 2009
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/03/world/europe/03greece.html?ref=global-home


ATHENS — A powerful car bomb rocked the Athens Stock Exchange on Wednesday, badly damaging parts of the building, setting eight vehicles ablaze and slightly wounding a private security guard, police said.

A view of the damaged stock exchange in Athens on Wednesday morning.
The blast came 40 minutes after a smaller bomb exploded outside a government building in Thessaloniki, northern Greece, causing minor damage but no injuries.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility but police and counterterrorism officials said they suspect the Athens blast was set off by Revolutionary Struggle, a far-left militant group that also launched a rocket attack on the United States Embassy here two years ago.

Both attacks Wednesday were preceded by warning calls made by anonymous callers to Greek police and an Athens newspaper.

“There does not appear to be any link between the two attacks,” said national police spokesman, Panayiotis Stathis. “We suspect the Thessaloniki hit was by a local militant group.”

“The Athens bourse attack is far more serious.”

Despite widespread damage caused by the explosion, officials at the stock exchange quickly said that trading would proceed as normal in both Greece and Cyprus. Athens and Nicosia share the same trading platform.

Greek terrorists and small anarchists group have intensified arson attacks since the December 2008 police shooting of a teenager triggered the worst riots in decades.