Greek police have detained six people suspected of belonging to a guerrilla group and taking part in bomb attacks, after guns, rifles and bullets were found during raids in apartments in Athens and Volos yesterday.
About 30 suspected members of leftist groups have been arrested in the last two years as authorities try to stem a string of attacks that have rocked Greece since riots paralysed Athens in December 2008.
“Five men and one woman were arrested for participating in a terrorist group,” a police official said. One more person was temporarily detained and more searches are to be conducted in other locations in the country as part of the operation.
Seven handguns, three assault rifles, bullets, wigs and police uniforms were confiscated during the raids.
Police were conducting ballistic tests to determine whether the weapons found had been used in guerrilla attacks.
“The raids took place after evidence on suspects’ involvement in the Fire Conspiracy Cells guerrilla group,” said another police official, who declined to be named.
Greece has a decades-long history of leftist violence and some groups have sprung up or become more active since December 2008, when the killing of a teenager by police triggered three weeks of rioting and drew global attention.
The conspiracy cells initially staged arson attacks but later turned to bombings.
Their devices usually contain small amounts of explosives. The group claimed a wave of parcel bombs against embassies and foreign governments in November last year.
It claimed responsibility for a powerful explosion which damaged a court house in Athens in January this year.