Guernsey Press

Powerful bomb explodes outside private Greek TV station

There was no immediate claim of responsibility. Armed far-left and anarchist organisations have attacked news media outlets in the past.

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A powerful bomb has exploded outside private Greek television station Skai, causing extensive damage but no injuries.

Police said the blast occurred at 2:35am local time outside the broadcaster’s headquarters in a coastal area near Athens after telephoned warnings to a news website and another TV station prompted authorities to evacuate the building.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility. Armed far-left and anarchist organisations have attacked news media outlets in the past.

Greece TV Station Bomb
A forensic expert searches the debris after a powerful bomb exploded (Petros Giannakouris/AP)

“We will reinforce our democracy. This incident should give pause to those who leave a path open to terrorism and fascism.”

She said anti-terrorism police are leading the investigation. Dozens of police investigators wearing white overalls collected evidence from the scene, much of which remained cordoned off.

The blast shattered windows and damaged the front of the building, and tore through front offices. Nearby apartment buildings and cars were also damaged.

The explosive device was attached to a metal crash barrier on a busy coastal road in the Faliro area south of Athens.

Greece TV Station Bomb
A journalist looks out of a broken window (Petros Giannakouris/AP)

Skai continued its live TV broadcast, reporting from outside the building, while radio broadcasts from inside the building were also operating.

Journalist Nikos Filippidis arrived for work after the building was partially reopened.

“There are people who work here for the press, to inform the public,” he said.

“The damage will be fixed, but this feels like violence inside someone’s home.”

Monday’s attack bore some similarities with a 2017 bombing of a courthouse building in central Athens.

That attack was claimed by a far-left group called Popular Fighters Group.

Greece has a history of armed attacks over the past four decades, mostly from radical far-left groups that began to emerge after a seven-year dictatorship that collapsed in 1974.

Targets frequently include banks and embassies, as well as police and judicial sites.

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