Security camera footage is being scrutinised after a car bomb exploded at dawn outside a Greek Central Bank building in Athens.
No one was hurt but windows were smashed in the blast as Greece prepared its return to international bond markets on Thursday.
Police believe leftist or anarchist guerrilla groups were behind the blast at the Bank of Greece office, in the heart of the capital, with government buildings and embassies nearby.
“Of course it is illogical, but I think it is also a form of protest against everything,” Athens resident Theofanis Petropoulos told euronews. “It is not right of course, but what can I say? What can I say? People’s minds are, you know, uncontrollable.”
“Of course it is not pleasant,” added fellow Athens dweller Mary Skourtsi. “It is not pleasant. It is rather worrying.”
The car was stolen. Euronews has been told that someone was seen running away from it before the blast. Warning calls were made to the media, reportedly saying that around 70 kilos of explosives were used.
Our correspondent in Athens, Giannisis Stamatis, says that police are linking the blast outside offices of the country’s highest banking institution with Greece’s return to the bond markets for the first time in four years.
“Security forces have been placed on alert as this terrorist act happened just 24 hours before German Chancellor Angela Merkel is due to arrive in the Greek capital,” he said.
