Greek police destroy letter bomb in Athens

[February 02, 2011]  ATHENS, Greece (AP) -- Greek police destroyed a letter bomb that was sent to the Justice Ministry in Athens on Wednesday and warned other state offices and ministries to watch out for more potentially booby-trapped packages.

The attempted attack was similar to a spate of letter bombs sent to embassies in the Greek capital in November. A militant anarchist group has claimed responsibility for those bombings, which caused no serious injuries. A number of suspects have since been arrested and face charges.

No injuries were caused by Wednesday's controlled detonation outside the ministry building near central Athens.

The booby-trapped package had been addressed to the office of the minister, with the sender listed as an "independent initiative of lawyers," said police spokesman Athanasios Kokalakis. Staff at the ministry deemed the package suspicious and called the police.

"We have a similar package to those sent in November," Kokalakis said, adding that the letter was believed to have contained a small amount of explosives.

[Associated Press]

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