Two men shot dead a Greek anti-terrorism policeman guarding a witness in Athens today in the worst attack since riots in December launched a wave of urban violence in Greece.
Police said the attackers shot the 41-year-old officer several times at close range and he died in his car as they fled on motorcycles in the densely populated Patissia area of Athens.
"It was a cold-blooded murder ... they just drew their guns and murdered him," police spokesman Panagiotis Stathis told reporters at the scene.
The witness being guarded by the target of the attack was in a protection programme after testifying against a member of the now defunct People's Revolutionary Struggle (ELA) group, who was convicted with others in 2004.
Police found 24 shells from two guns at the scene and witnesses said at least two more people were involved in the attack.
Police said there was no warning or any claim of responsibility for the attack. Forensic evidence was expected to identify which group might be responsible.
Leftist and anarchist groups have unleashed a series of attacks on against police, political and business targets since a policeman shot dead a teenager in Athens in December, triggering Greece's worst riots in decades.
The violence has damaged Greece's conservative government, clinging to a one-seat majority in parliament as its popularity plummets, mainly as a result of a slowing economy.
The attack was similar to the wounding of a policeman in January in a shooting claimed by the Revolutionary Struggle militants, Greece's most militant leftist group.
Reuters