An explosion caused by a rocket attack shook the US embassy in
central Athens early on Friday morning, but no injuries were
reported, Greek police said.
Officers said the rocket, launched from a building across the
street, left a large hole in the embassy almost half a meter
deep.
Witnesses said the explosion was so powerful that it could be
clearly heard from over 500 meters away.?
Police cordoned off the area around the heavily guarded building
following the explosion shortly before 6 AM. Investigators were
examining what was believed to be the device used to fire the
rocket shell from a construction site near the embassy.
"This is an act of terrorism. We don't know where from," Attica
Police Chief Asimakis Golfis said. "There was a shell that exploded
in the toilets of the building ... It was fired from street
level."
Embassy officials confirmed the explosion, adding that no one
had been injured. US ambassador Charles Reis said the damage was
"not extensive."
"There can be no justification for such a senseless act of
violence ... The embassy was occupied at the time (but) nobody was
hurt," he said, adding that no warning had come of the attack.
"We're treating it as a very serious attack and we will
determine what it is when we know (more)," he said.
Authorities were searching apartment buildings near the US
Embassy and a nearby hospital for evidence.
"The Greek Police are working closely with the embassy
authorities," a police statement said.
Traffic froze to a standstill across parts of central Athens, as
police and emergency services scrambled to the embassy building, a
frequent destination for protest groups.
It was the first major attack against a US target in over a
decade in the South European country, following the dismantling of
Greece's far-left November 17 terrorist group. The group was blamed
for killing 23 people - including US, British and Turkish officials
- and dozens of bomb attacks and was shut down in 2002.?
In 2003, a special court gave multiple life sentences to
November 17's leader, chief assassin and three other members.
Lesser sentences were handed to 10 others.
In February 1996, unidentified assailants fired a rocket at the
US embassy compound in Athens, causing minor damage to three
diplomatic vehicles and some surrounding buildings.
In November last year, Greek riot police fired tear gas towards
demonstrators marching to the US embassy in Athens who chanted
slogans including "Bush the butcher, out of Iraq" and "The USA is
the real terrorist".
(Xinhua News Agency, Chinadaily.com via agencies January 12,
2007)
