WORLD / Europe
Blast at US embassy called 'terrorism'
(Reuters)
Updated: 2007-01-12 14:24
The US Embassy is seen after an explosion in Athens early Friday, January
12, 2007. [AP]
ATHENS, Greece - Assailants fired a rocket at the the U.S. embassy in
Athens on Friday but no one was hurt in the attack, which anonymous
callers said was staged by Greek leftists, authorities said.
In the most serious attack against the mission in 10 years, the small
rocket launched from across the street shattered windows and woke up
nearby residents in the central Athens area at 5:58 AM (0358 GMT).
"There is one or two anonymous phone calls which claim that the
Revolutionary Struggle was behind the attack," Public Order Minister
Byron Polydoras told reporters outside the embassy.
The leftist guerrilla group has emerged as the most serious domestic
threat since the dismantling of the deadly November 17 group in 2002. It
claimed an assassination attempt on Greece's Culture Minister last May
and a bomb at the Economy Ministry which wounded two people and damaged
buildings 13 months ago.
"I am treating this as a very serious attack," U.S. ambassador to Athens,
Charles Ries, told reporters outside the mission. "The embassy was
attacked in a senseless act of violence. There were no injuries."
Greek police said the rocket was launched from a building across the road
from the mission, which is often the target of Greek protests and
demonstrations, and landed inside a toilet on the third floor.
"The projectile caused slight damage to the facade's glass and the
ceiling," police said in a statement.
ATTACK CONDEMNED
Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyanni rushed to the embassy to meet Ries
and condemn the attack.
"Such acts have cost us dearly in the past," she told reporters. "The
government will do everything in its power so they are not repeated."
In February 1996, November 17 claimed responsibility for a rocket attack
at the back of the compound, which caused minor damage to three
diplomatic vehicles and some surrounding buildings.
Once Greece's biggest security threat, the group was dismantled two years
before the Athens 2004 Olympics. It had staged dozens of bombings,
shootings and rocket attacks, and killed U.S. and other foreign diplomats
in Greece.
Dozens of police cars surrounded the embassy and hundred of police
cordoned off all roads in the area, including a major boulevard in front
of the mission. Police helicopters hovered overhead.
Local residents called in to state television saying they had felt the
explosion, which shattered some windows.
"It was a huge explosion, the ground shook. I woke up and rushed to the
balcony to see what happened," a local resident, who was not identified,
told Greek state TV.
The heavily-guarded embassy building, surrounded by a 3-metre
(9-feet)-high steel fence, has guards are posted at every entrance and at
street corners around it.
In November last year, Greek riot police fired tear gas to disperse
demonstrators marching to the U.S. embassy in Athens who chanted slogans
including "Bush the butcher, out of Iraq" and "The USA is the real
terrorist".
Top World News
� US pushing for more N. Korea sanctions
� Blast at US embassy called 'terrorism'
� Expensive new US spy satellite not working: sources
� Bush takes blame in Iraq, adds troops
� Indian killer suspect admits sex with dead bodies
Today's Top News
� China now second largest vehicle market
� Blast at US embassy called 'terrorism'
� 30m men face bleak future as singles
� China moves to clean up TV screens
� Bush takes blame in Iraq, adds troops
Most Commented/Read Stories in 48 Hours
Learn Chinese, Learning Mandarin, Learning Materials, Mandarin audio lessons, Chinese writing lessons, Chinese vocabulary lists, About chinese characters, News in Chinese, Go to China, Travel to China, Study in China, Teach in China, Dictionaries, Learn Chinese Painting, Your name in Chinese, Chinese calligraphy, Chinese songs, Chinese proverbs, Chinese poetry, Chinese tattoo, Beijing 2008 Olympics, Mandarin Phrasebook, Chinese editor, Pinyin editor, China Travel, Travel to Beijing, Travel to Tibet
No comments:
Post a Comment