Thessaloniki, Greece (AP) — A woman tragically lost her life early Saturday in Thessaloniki when an explosive device detonated in her hands.
The 38-year-old appeared to have been attempting to place the bomb outside a bank around 5 a.m.
The blast caused damage to several shops and vehicles in the vicinity.
Authorities indicated that the woman, whose identity has not been released, had a history of criminal activity, particularly related to drugs and prostitution, and had engaged in at least one robbery or theft previously. The Greek police’s organized crime unit is looking into the matter, exploring possible links to far-left extremist groups.
Greece has experienced sporadic bombings and targeted violence attributed to various organized crime factions. The country also grapples with a longstanding issue of politically motivated violence, which can be traced back to the 1970s. Generally, these extremist actions tend to cause property damage but rarely result in injuries.
While many of the most active groups from the 1980s and 1990s have been dismantled, new smaller factions continue to emerge, often targeting politicians, foreign businesses, and diplomats.
Last year, a man was killed while attempting to assemble a bomb after an explosive device detonated in an apartment in central Athens, seriously injuring a woman present there. The intended target of that explosion remains unclear.
This latest incident has led Civil Protection Minister Mikalis Lisocoid to issue a warning about a new wave of domestic extremists.
In April, a group called the Revolutionary Class Struggle took responsibility for a bomb that exploded near the office of Hellenic Train, as well as another device planted near the Ministry of Labor earlier in February.
The explosion adjacent to the train office resulted in minimal damage and no injuries, partially due to an anonymous warning call made to local media about 40 minutes prior to the explosion.
The claimed objective was stated to be part of an armed struggle against the government.
This incident occurred shortly after the second anniversary of Greece’s most severe railway catastrophe, which claimed 57 lives. The accident happened when a passenger train became inadvertently set on the same track as a freight train heading the opposite direction, causing injuries to many others.
The disaster triggered significant public outrage, exposing serious shortcomings in the Greek railway system’s safety measures. Families of the victims led widespread protests against the conservative government on the same anniversary.
