Bombs hit Athens police station

Three bombs exploded outside a police station in the Greek capital Athens, today, in a series of timed blasts, causing serious damage and rattling security forces just 100 days before the Olympic Games.

No injuries were reported.

The pre-dawn explosions, which occurred within a half hour, came before events to mark the final stretch to the August 13-29 Olympics. An anonymous caller to an Athens newspaper warned of the attacks several minutes in advance, but gave no motive or claim of responsibility.

Police believe the bombings at the densely-populated Kalithea district may have been intended to kill, despite the tip to the newspaper. Parts of the building – which includes several police agencies – were damaged and windows were shattered in nearby apartment blocks.

Authorities evacuated the station and cordoned off the area. The head of Greece’s anti-terrorist squad was among the top-level staff called to the site. Bomb experts also conducted a controlled explosion, but it was apparently a suspicious package and not a fourth bomb.

The Olympics carry a record security price tag of at least £800 million that includes a planned citywide network of surveillance cameras and aerial patrols. The camera system is not yet in full operation.

A Greek delegation, led by the public order minister and head of the Greek police, is currently in Washington for talks on efforts to safeguard the games - the first summer Olympics since the September 11 2001, attacks.

An International Olympic Committee inspection team is due arrive in Athens on Monday for a final review of preparations.

In September, similar timed blasts damaged a judicial complex in Athens and injured one police officer. The twin bombings, 20 minutes apart, were claimed by a group calling itself Revolutionary Struggle and believed to be a protest against crackdowns that toppled the deadly November 17 terrorist cell.

Greek authorities – under intense international pressure to safeguard the Olympics – claimed they crippled domestic terrorism following the convictions in December of 19 members of the group, blamed for 23 killings and dozens of other attacks since 1975. The victims include four US officials, two Turkish diplomats and a British defence envoy.

But smaller groups have continued to carry out bombings and arson attacks in Athens and other cities. Most are against cars and commercial targets and rarely cause injuries.

In April, the US State Department’s annual report on terrorism said the “low-level bombings against an array of perceived establishment and so-called imperialist targets ... underscore the lingering nature of left-wing terrorism in Greece”.