Greek embassy in Paris gets letter bomb
2011-12-12 21:25
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Paris - French police on Monday neutralised a letter bomb sent to the Greek embassy in Paris from Italy, in what appeared to be the latest in a string of explosive parcel attacks, officials said.
The Greek foreign ministry said in a statement it called Paris police after receiving a suspicious package addressed to the ambassador "without the name of the sender, but sent from Italy".
It said French police confirmed the package contained "a bomb of limited strength". No one was injured and no damage was caused, the ministry added.
A Paris police source said officers were called to the embassy after smoke began to escape from the package, stored in the embassy's basement, in what was "apparently the start of explosion".
Bomb specialists deployed to the scene found wires and a battery in the small envelope, the source said, and doused the package with a water cannon, putting it out of action.
It was unclear who may have sent the parcel, but it follows a series of letter bomb attacks on European government and financial institutions in recent days that have been claimed by Italian anarchists.
