UNKNOWN GREEK TERROR GROUP CLAIMS RESPONSIBILITY

UNCLAS ATHENS 000165 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PTER PGOV ASEC GR SUBJECT: UNKNOWN GREEK TERROR GROUP CLAIMS RESPONSIBILITY FOR ATTACK ON POLICE STATION REF: ATHENS 154 ¶1. A previously unknown group calling itself "Sect of Revolutionaries" has claimed responsibility for the February 3 shooting and hand grenade attack on the Korydallos police station in suburban Athens (reftel). An anonymous call to the Ta Nea newspaper led police to discover a CD containing the proclamation February 4 on the grave of Alexandros Grigoropoulos, a teenager whose shooting death at the hands of police in December set off weeks of rioting. In the statement (full Embassy translation e-mailed to EUR/SE) the group speaks mockingly of police and announces it will pursue "guerrilla war" and "the tactic of permanent threat." The group distinguishes itself from the Revolutionary Struggle (RS) terrorist organization by criticizing RS for targeting police in parts of Athens that are already flashpoints of confrontation between police and self-styled anarchists, claiming those areas are more susceptible to "police occupation." The statement concludes, "One hundred flowers have bloomed, they are one hundred revolutionary organizations." The statement does not mention the United States. ¶2. The investigation of the Korydallos attack is continuing, and at this point it is unclear how credible this claim of responsibility is. Police have reportedly concluded from examination of shell casings that the two guns used in the attack were a 9 mm pistol and a 32 mm Skorpion machine pistol, neither of which had been used in previous terrorist attacks in Greece. SPECKHARD