THESSALONIKI: BOMBS IN CHURCHES FAIL TO DETONATE BUT RAISE

UNCLAS THESSALONIKI 000018 SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT. FOR DS/IP/EUR, DS/DSS/TIA, EUR/SE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL ASEC GR SUBJECT: THESSALONIKI: BOMBS IN CHURCHES FAIL TO DETONATE BUT RAISE FEARS OF ANARCHIST ESCALATION ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: An anarchist group claimed responsibility for planting three explosive devices with timing mechanisms in two of Thessaloniki's most well-known churches on April 9. Tipped off by an anonymous caller, police found the devices before they had detonated. One of the devices caused a small fire, possibly from an incorrectly installed detonator. Both churches were full of pre-Easter worshippers at the time. The incident is the latest in a series of increasingly brazen anarchist attacks on downtown targets. Police assure Post they are determined to rein in anarchists and secure downtown businesses and organizations, including the Consulate. ¶2. (SBU) According to Thessaloniki Security Police deputy director Colonel Dimitris Tsaknakis, on April 9 at about 14:00 an unidentified male contacted the "Alter" TV channel in Athens and said that bombs would go off at the two biggest churches in downtown Thessaloniki: Saint Dimitrios and Saint Sofia. (Note: the caller also warned of bombings at two churches in Athens, septel. End note.) The Bomb Squad searched the churches and located two incendiary devices in Saint Dimitrios one in Saint Sofia. Each device was composed of 4 propane canisters, a plastic container of flammable liquid and a battery-operated clock detonator with a fuse. The device at Saint Sofia had not been detonated and caused no damage. One of the devices at Saint Dimitrios was discovered by a church official after it had started smoking and caused a small fire, which the official extinguished. The other device had not been detonated. The Metropolitan of Thessaloniki, Anthimos, told media that, as is usual during the pre-Easter period, the churches were full of worshippers and visitors (at the time the bombs were found) and were lucky not to have been harmed. ¶3. (SBU) According to Colonel Tsankakis the devices did not explode because the detonators were not connected properly to the gas canisters. Police took the devices to the lab for investigation. Tsaknakis attributed the attempted bombings to self-styled anarchists who have carried out a number of attacks with gas canisters and Molotov Cocktails over the past six months throughout the city. This is the first such attack on a church, though some vandalism occurred during the December 2008 riots triggered by the shooting of a teenager by a police officer in Athens. Most of the previous attacks have been directed at businesses and political offices. An organization calling itself "Conspiracy Nuclei of fire/Commando Splinter group nihilists" claimed responsibility for the attacks via e-mail to the Athens based Indymedia web page on the night of April 9. ¶4. (SBU) COMMENT: The placing of bombs in Thessaloniki's two most important Orthodox Christian churches (dating from the 8th and 7th centuries AD),is the latest in a series of increasingly brazen attacks committed by anarchists in Thessaloniki in recent weeks. In a departure from past pratices, anarchists and their cohorts are striking in broad daylight in busy downtown areas (e.g. the ransacking of department stores by crowbar-wielding thugs on March 28 and the simultaneous fire bombings of six political party offices on March 30). Though the attacks have so far caused only damage to property, local businesses and politicians are concerned the violence may escalate if left unchecked. Senior police officials told CG on April 8 they are determined to rein in the anarchists, whom they believe to be small in number, and are taking steps to strengthen the security of downtown businesses and organizations (including the Consulate). YEE