Eight ‘suspect’ packages found at Athens sorting center

 

Greek police Monday said they had located eight “suspect” packages similar to mail bombs sent by a domestic militant group to key economic institutions last week.

 

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The packages, intended for “officials at European countries” were located at the Greek postal service’s main sorting center north of Athens, a police statement said.

 

Last week, a mail bombs sent to the International Monetary Fund’s offices in Paris exploded and injured a secretary. A second bomb sent to the German finance ministry was intercepted by security.

 

The investigation so far suggests that both the IMF and the German finance ministry bombs were sent by a far-left group called the Conspiracy of Fire Nuclei, which police thought they had mostly dismantled in 2011.

 

A source close to the investigation in Paris last week said the mail bomb consisted of two tubes of black powder and a makeshift electric trigger.

 

A Greek police source on Monday said the eight additional packages had been scanned and “found to contain a similar mechanism.”