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Terrorism & Security

Swiss Embassy attack in Athens follows discovery of six Greece 'parcel bombs'

The Swiss Embassy attack came after authorities discovered six Greece 'parcel bombs' addressed to French President Sarkozy and foreign embassies across Athens.

By Taylor Barnes, Correspondent / November 2, 2010

Police stand outside the Greek Parliament after a controlled blast in Athens on Nov. 2. Greek police say they have detonated another suspicious package outside the Bulgarian Embassy in Athens, following blasts outside Parliament and the Swiss Embassy.

Alkis Konstantinidis/AP

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So-called "parcel bombs" exploded today in the compounds of the Swiss and Russian embassies in Athens, injuring no one, according to the Associated Press. They came a day after another parcel bomb, which was addressed to the Mexican Embassy in Greece, exploded in the offices of an Athens courier company.

The explosion Monday injured one female worker and led police to two suspected culprits standing at a bus stop near the building. Aged 22 and 24, the men were arrested holding two more parcel bombs addressed to French President Nicolas Sarkozy and the Belgian Embassy in the Greek capital, reported The Canada Press.

A sixth parcel bomb addressed to the Dutch Embassy was discovered Monday by police at the offices of ACS couriers, also in the neighborhood of Pagrati. And yet a seventh and eighth parcel bomb, addressed to the Bulgarian Embassy and Chilean Embassy respectively, were detonated today in controlled explosions, reported BBC News.

Coming days after authorities in Britain and Dubai intercepted several bomb packages mailed out of Yemen and addressed to Chicago synagogues, the citywide terror plot puts a spotlight on how radical groups can utilize a global mailing system criticized for lax screening.

The younger man is alleged to belong to a domestic anarchist group referred to as "Conspiracy Nuclei of Fire" (the media also refers to it as "Conspiracy of Cells of Fire" or "Conspiracy of Fire"). Their motivation is reportedly to spark a revolution in Greece. The group is alleged to be behind a wave of attacks since December 2008, according to the Canadian Press.

But police, the post office, and private delivery companies say screening procedures have not changed significantly since a senior official at the country's public order ministry was killed last year in a letter-bomb blast linked to Greek militants.

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