Sarkozy among targets of Greek parcel bombs

A parcel bomb addressed to French President Nicolas Sarkozy has been found and neutralised in Athens during the arrest of suspected bombers, Greek police said Monday. A second bomb was also neutralised but another exploded at the offices of courier company, Swiftmail.

Reuters/Yiorgos Karahalis

The parcel that went off was addressed to the Mexican embassy in Athens and slightly injured a woman employee.

 
Four suspects - two men and two women - were arrested shortly afterwards in possession of two other parcel bombs, one destined for Sarkozy, the other for the Belgian embassy.

The two men, aged 22 and 24, were arrested in the central district of Pangrati.

They were intending to mail a total of four parcel bombs and were both armed with Glock handguns, police said in a statement.

One of the men was wearing a bullet-proof vest and a wig.

From a postal slip found on the suspects, the police tracked down and exploded a second parcel, addressed to the Dutch embassy, at a nearby courier company.

Police suspect one of them of being a member of Conspiracy of Fire Nuclei, a far-left group that specialises in arson attacks against the offices and homes of politicians.
 

It planted a small explosive device in a rubbish bin outside the Greek parliament in January, after police claimed to have arrested several of its members in raids around Athens.

Apparently different groups have also planted bombs in the Greek capital over the last two years.