A bomb explosion occurred at 01:29 yesterday night outside the Ministry of Labor on Stadiou Street, causing material damage to the facade and windows of the building as well as to adjacent buildings.

The bomb was placed in a backpack hanging on a railing across from the Ministry of Labor in front of a bank branch, which is closed as it is undergoing renovations.

According to Giorgos Kalliakmanis in SKAI, bomb that exploded was so strong that the shock wave broke the windows from the 6th floor of the ministry.

Two warning calls – Claim of responsibility by the emerging organization “Revolutionary Class Self-Defense”

The explosion was preceded by two warning phone calls from an unknown person to the Editors of the Newspaper. Initially, the unknown person warned that an explosive device had been placed outside the ministry and was going to be detonated in 40 minutes, but then he called again clarifying that the device had been placed across the street from the ministry at the bank branch.

In addition, the unknown person said that the responsibility is taken by the organization “Revolutionary Class Self-Defense”, which appears for the first time.

According to the relevant announcement of ELAS, the Direct Action center was informed by the Editors’ Newspaper at 00:48. The police immediately cordoned off the area and proceeded to stop the traffic of vehicles on Stadiou street, from the height of Pesmatzoglou.

At the same time, a team from the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Department rushed to the scene. The mechanism, as clarified by ELAS, exploded at 01:29, causing material damage.
As it became known from the Police, traffic on Stadiou Street was restored shortly after 9 am.

What police and counter-terrorism are investigating

Stadiou Street remained blocked throughout the night as ELAS pyrotechnicians swept the area to collect evidence.

The leftovers of the explosive mechanism that were located were taken to forensically laboratories.

The preliminary investigation into the case has been undertaken by the Anti-Terrorist Service (DAEEB), which has started and is gathering evidence from the cameras around the scene of the attack.

Police sources tell APE-MPE that it is still too early to assess the new organization, but they are investigating any similarities in its action with older organizations.

It is recalled that a bomb had been planted in a similar way in December 2016 outside the Ministry of Labour. For the mechanism that had been neutralized at the time, the organization had assumed the responsibility “Group of People’s Fighters“.