Greece Detains Eight Suspects in Connection With Terrorist Group

Counter-terrorism officers in Greece on Tuesday detained eight suspects in connection with a terrorist group that has claimed responsibility for three bomb attacks and has leveled threats against judges.

According to police, another two individuals who are prison inmates are also being investigated in the same case.

During the course of the operation, police searched ten residences and seized material that will be examined as evidence.

The case concerns the group “Sympraxi Ekdikisis” (Revenge Partnership), which has claimed responsibility for three terrorist actions via a known anti-establishment website.

These include:

– A grenade attack on the vehicle of a prison officer in Haidari in July, 2023.

– A bomb attack against a construction company in Kifissia in November, 2023

– A bomb explosion at a National Bank building in Petralona on January 25, 2024.

Police will make announcements after the conclusion of the operation.

Terrorist group resurgence in Greece

Officials have expressed fears of a resurgence of terrorism in Greece. Earlier in February, a bomb exploded in the heart of Athens across the Ministry of Labor.

Initially, Greek Police (ELAS) believed the bomb that exploded early in the morning was intended to destroy a bank on Stadiou Street. However, further investigations revealed that the actual target was the government building on the opposite side of the street.

Police experts now believe that the bombing is part of an organized and extensive plan to use urban guerrilla tactics in Greece’s capital. They also believe it was a symbolic act and wasn’t meant to lead to any victims.

A few days later, explosives sent to the Thessaloniki’s Courthouse enclosed in an envelope were successfully defused by the bomb disposal unit.

The parcel, addressed to a female senior judge, reached her third-floor office at the Thessaloniki Courthouse on Monday. It contained gelatin dynamite.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility. Similar attacks have been carried out in recent years by small far-left militant groups targeting symbols of authority.

Last week, police were placed on high alert after phone calls to TV stations warned about the placement of bombs in the embassies of Israel, Egypt, and the US in Athens, as well as at the Parliament.

Special bomb squad teams that rushed to the embassy buildings in Athens found no explosive devices, leading experts to conclude it was a hoax.

Citizen Protection Minister Michalis Chrysochoidis recently said the government will not allow a terrorism resurgence in Greece.

“We are not going to let terrorism be revived,” he stressed speaking to SKAI television. “We will not allow it.”

“Some brazen and dangerous people did an act that could endanger the lives of our fellow citizens,” Chrysochoidis said. “We will do everything we can so that the perpetrators of such criminal acts are brought to justice and punished.”