Greek policeman seriously wounded in shooting

Greek police say a riot police unit has come under attack with gunfire in the capital Athens, and that a policeman has been seriously wounded.

Police spokesman Panagiotis Stathis says today’s pre-dawn attack by at least one gunman was aimed at a riot police unit guarding the Culture Ministry in downtown Athens.

He says the policeman has been taken to hospital in serious condition.

Mr Stathis said police had detained several people around the nearby area of Exarchia. He did not give a number of detentions.

Greece has faced severe riots since the December 6 fatal police shooting of a teenage boy in Exarchia.

For two weeks after the boy’s death, riot police fought near nightly street battles with youths throwing rocks and petrol bombs.