Possible Terror Motive as Athens Tax Office Bombed, Far Left Takes Credit

Investigators are refusing to rule out the possibility that the bombing of a tax office in Athens this week that caused substantial damage could be linked to domestic terrorism, with far-left extremists taking credit for the blast.

The suspected bombing took place before dawn on Wednesday at a tax office in the suburb of Maroussi in northern Athens, and is said to have been a powerful blast that not only broke several windows on the facade of the tax office building but also damaged a nearby wall.

No one was injured in the blast, but investigators have expressed concern over the incident as no warning was received before the explosion, initially prompting fears it may be linked to domestic terrorism, Greek newspaper Ekathimerini reports.

Greek anti-terrorism investigators have since taken over the investigation in the case. Far-left anarchist extremists took credit for the explosion on Thursday, stating the bombing was in retaliation for the imprisonment of anarchist extremist Yannis Michaelides. The group claimed they used around two kilos (4.4 lbs) of explosives in the bombing.

Another explosion also took place on Wednesday at the Sismanoglio hospital, one of the largest public hospitals in Greece, blasting open an ATM.

The alleged perpetrators are said to have disguised themselves as doctors and subdued a security guard before using an explosive to open the ATM at around 4:30 a.m. It remains unclear if the two explosions are related.

Similar ATM and bank bombings have been connected to far-left extremists in Greece in the past, such as the group Revolutionary Struggle, which carried out bombings of banks between 2003 and 2010, and the anarchist group Conspiracy of Fire Cells, which bombed banks and car dealerships in Athens and Thessaloniki.

Elsewhere in Europe, however, criminal gangs have been linked to ATM explosions, including a gang which targeted ATMs across Germany from October to November of last year and stole nearly a million euros in cash from eight different ATMs and caused around a million euros more worth of damages.

Follow Chris Tomlinson on Twitter at @TomlinsonCJ or email at ctomlinson(at)breitbart.com.