Athens - A little known anarchist group claimed responsibility Thursday for a bomb explosion at a shopping mall in Athens that injured two security guards and forced the evacuation of some 200 people.
According to police, a group calling itself the Anarchist Partnership Wild Organisation and Freedom Promoters had posted a note on the internet saying it was responsible for Sunday's attack.
Police were able to evacuate the four-story mall in the northern Athens suburb of Marousi after being tipped off by a newspaper that had received a warning from an anonymous caller about 50 minutes before the bomb detonated.
Authorities said the device contained similar material to other attacks carried out by the well-known terrorist organisation Conspiracy of Fire Nuclei.
Sunday's attack followed a string of firebombings that have targeted government officials and their relatives, as well as journalists, over the past month.
Violence escalated last week when unknown gunman opened fire on the main Athens office of the New Democracy party of Prime Minister Antonis Samaras. No one was injured in that incident.
Greeks are facing a sixth year of recession and drastic spending cuts demanded by international lenders in exchange for a bailout. - Sapa-dpa