<%@LANGUAGE="VBSCRIPT" CODEPAGE="1252"%> WorldTribune.com: Mobile Ñ Greece again a hotbed for leftwing violence

Greece again a hotbed for leftwing violence

Monday, February 16, 2009   E-Mail this story   Free Headline Alerts

ATHENS Ñ After nearly five years of calm, Greece has again become a magnet for anti-Western insurgency groups following days of rioting in late 2008.

Greece had been spared major insurgency strikes since 2002, when authorities dismantled the notorious Nov. 17 group, which was linked to the killings of former CIA Athens station chief Richard Welch and three other U.S. officials, two Turkish diplomats and a British defense attache.

Officials said Greece's intelligence community succeeded in foiling several insurgency plots during the Olympic Games in 2004.

Officials said left-wing insurgency cells have emerged to conduct attacks on police and diplomatic facilities in Athens. They said the cells were believed to have been activated during civil unrest in Greece in late 2008.

"We always knew of the potential that this could resurface," an official said.

The insurgents have also targeted NATO-aligned facilities. On Feb. 13, youngsters threw a firebomb at the Turkish consulate in Thessaloniki. No injuries were reported.

In January 2009, a group called Revolutionary Struggle claimed responsibility for attacks against the Greek government. The group said it conducted a Jan. 5 shooting of a police officer in Athens.

Weeks later, an unknown group said it shot an officer on Feb. 3 in an attack on a police station in a suburb of the Greek capital. The group, Sect of Revolutionaries, warned that it would expand its targets in Greece.

"To those who are already wondering why we chose some random cops and not a high-ranking official, a prominent journalist, a state functionary or at least a capitalist, we answer that their turn will come," Sect of Revolutionaries said in a statement on Feb. 5.

Officials said Sect of Revolutionaries appeared to be an offshoot of Revolutionary Struggle. They said the method of the latest attack resembled the January 2009 shooting.

"Our aim was to execute them," Sect of Revolutionaries said. "They were lucky; we were unlucky. Next time, they will not have luck on their side."

On Feb. 5, unidentified attackers bombed the office of Greece's police minister. The explosion did not result in any injuries, but caused minor damage.

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