A bomb exploded late Friday night outside the offices of Hellenic Train in central Athens, at the busy intersection of Syngrou Avenue and Petmeza Street. The device, a homemade time bomb, was planted at the building’s entrance and caused minor damage to the glass façade, according to initial reports. No injuries were reported.
Greek authorities have confirmed that the country’s Counterterrorism Unit has taken over the investigation. Early findings suggest that the bomb was concealed inside a backpack, which the perpetrators transported to the scene using a scooter with no license plates. According to police sources, the backpack was secured to a pole outside the train company’s headquarters with a padlock.
Roughly at 8:53 p.m. local time, shortly after the suspects left the area, a warning call was made to two media outlets—the news site Zougla.gr and the newspaper Efimerida ton Syntakton. The anonymous caller stated that an explosive device had been planted and gave a warning window of 35 to 40 minutes before detonation. Journalists who received the message reported that the caller insisted, “This is not a hoax.”
Greek police quickly evacuated the building and shut down traffic on Syngrou Avenue. True to the warning, the device detonated approximately 35 minutes later, causing limited material damage but no casualties.
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Bomb disposal experts and forensic teams were dispatched to the scene to collect remnants of the device. Officers from the Counterterrorism Unit are now leading the investigation, which appears to follow a pattern seen in past attacks.
Police believe the suspects may be individuals with prior involvement in violent extremist activity or could be operating under the guidance of more experienced figures within the radical anarchist or militant leftist scene in Greece. Authorities have drawn parallels between this attack and a similar bombing outside Greece’s Ministry of Labor on Stadiou Street earlier this year. Investigators are also reviewing intelligence suggesting that incarcerated members of terrorist groups had been planning a symbolic act of violence in the lead-up to Orthodox Easter.
