Greece halts airmail in bid to stem bomb plots

Greece halted outgoing airmail and screened thousands of packages today in an attempt to stop a series of bombings targeting diplomats and European leaders.

A 48-hour ban on all deliveries abroad took effect after mail bombs reached the office of German Chancellor Angela Merkel and halted flights for hours at Italy's Bologna airport, where a package addressed to Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi caught fire.

Greece and Germany said they supported a Europe-wide tightening of package-screening procedures.

The device found in Berlin appeared identical to those in Greece, and seemed to contain a gunpowder-like substance.

Germany will now ask the Belgian EU presidency to put air-cargo security on the agenda of next week's regular meeting of interior ministers.

The attacks, which followed the unsuccessful Yemen-based ink bomb plot, highlighted the difficulty of keeping devices out of the international delivery system.

Several European governments urged vigilance but did not say they were increasing measures already in place at leaders' offices.

At least 13 bombs were detected sent from Athens on Monday and yesterday - one addressed to French President Nicolas Sarkozy and eight to the Athens embassies of Bulgaria, Russia, Germany, Switzerland, Mexico, Chile, the Netherlands and Belgium.

Three of the bombs exploded or caught fire in Athens, causing minor damage.

Police said none contained lethal amounts of explosives - unlike those used by the Yemeni militants.

The Greek government said that the bombs had no link to Islamist groups.

Two suspects arrested on Monday in connection with the bombings have been charged, and the photographs of five other suspects believed to be associated with them circulated.

The suspects, most in their early 20s, have been linked to an anarchist militant group called Conspiracy Nuclei of Fire.

Greece has suffered a surge of militant attacks - including a deadly letter bombing earlier this year - since massive riots in 2008 triggered by a police shooting of a teenage boy.

The country was plagued by far-left terrorism in the 1980s and 1990s, with more than 20 people killed in gun and bomb attacks.

Although the deadliest of these organisations were eradicated over the past decade, their attacks have inspired several small radical anarchist or nihilist groups violently opposed to capitalism and all forms of state authority.

Believed to recruit from anarchists and students who often clash with police in Greece's frequent protests, these groups have come to dominate domestic political violence - despite the arrest of more than a dozen suspected militants over the past year.

But they are seen as lacking the sophistication and tight organisation of the older far-left groups.

"Clearly we are dealing with amateurs but those are amateurs who got worldwide attention," Greek terrorism expert Mary Bossi said. "The suspects are all young but I have some reservations on who might be guiding them."

Greek Public Order Minister Christos Papoutsis blamed lax security at courier services.

"The two envelopes that went abroad did not pass through airport security," he said.

"The companies themselves which also use their own aircraft are responsible for controls."