Anti-terrorist police in Greece have detained three individuals following a series of coordinated bombings earlier this month which targeted prominent members of the ruling political party and left one woman dead.
The state police force confirmed the operational breakthrough in an official statement on Friday, revealing that the suspects were apprehended during targeted raids in the northern city of Thessaloniki and on the southern island of Crete.
The criminal investigation stems from a series of synchronised dawn attacks executed on 1 July in Thessaloniki. The targets included the residential properties and personal vehicles of three political figures associated with the governing New Democracy party.
Investigators revealed that the perpetrators used improvised explosive devices made from small, commercially available butane gas canisters.
The single fatality occurred at the residence of former political candidate Afroditi Nestora. The mother of the politician sustained catastrophic injuries during the incident and subsequently died, with initial findings suggesting she was attempting to extinguish the flames when a secondary explosion occurred.
The blast also inflicted injuries upon Afroditi Nestora, her father, and two other individuals who happened to be nearby. Law enforcement officials noted that the ensuing fire completely incinerated four vehicles parked within the domestic garage area.
According to domestic media reports, the remaining two explosive devices were placed at the properties of local executive committee chairman Zisis Ioakimovic and former Member of Parliament Savvas Anastasiades.
Government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis stated that the entire operation was carried out with chilling precision, with all three locations struck within a brief 15-minute window.
The Prime Minister of Greece and leader of New Democracy, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, expressed profound outrage and anger regarding the incidents. The Prime Minister strongly condemned the actions, characterising them as a cowardly, terrorist, and murderous assault on democratic representatives.
Left-wing extremist factions and anarchist networks within Greece have a documented history of deploying low-level, improvised explosives against financial institutions, multinational corporations, and political figures. Whilst these historical incidents have regularly caused significant property damage, they have almost always spared human life.
Security sources indicated that the structural design of the gas canister bombs used in these specific attacks strongly implies a shared origin, pointing to a single group of operators. Local news channels on Friday reported that the three individuals currently in custody are known to state security services as young activists operating within anti-establishment circles.
