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Police do not exclude an attempted terrorist attack on a political person

11 February 2013 / 14:02:55  GRReporter
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A week after the unsuccessful bank robbery, the Greek police have made public the weapons used by the captured terrorists. They are part of the heavy armoury of the group, which officials say is being constantly distributed. Police laboratories have been examining in detail the weapons and about 300 bullet-proof vests, ammunition, digging tools, rods and other objects in order to find fingerprints and other clues.

"We have not been able to find out how to start the unravelling of the "17 November" case for years. Now, we cannot find the end as regards "Conspiracy of Fire Nuclei". Within a few years, more than 50 people were related with the activities of the group whereas the number of attacks exceeded 220. So far, we have found 15 hiding places and stashes of the group in Greece. Over 20 police operations to apprehend the suspects were successful but we feel like we have achieved almost nothing", states a senior police official for "To Vima" newspaper.

According to him and his colleagues, "Conspiracy of Fire Nuclei" has grown into an anarchist organization which will be constantly "reborn" and which will probably never cease its activities. The investigating authorities believe that the group attracts its members from among the adherents of anarchism, especially from among those who gather in the central Athens neighbourhood of Exarcheia. Its members have contacts with criminals and do not aim at protecting its inviolability. Moreover, the key players in it use in their operations armed youths, whom the authorities usually apprehend within about 2-4 years and are aware of their activity almost from the start.
 
The police emphasize the continuous renewal of the activity of the group. Initially, old anarchists were the leaders of "Conspiracy of Fire Nuclei" who were involved in attacks on policemen, in robberies and many armed groups that were formed after the breakup of "17 November" and "Revolutionary Struggle" in the period 1997-2005. Since then, however, the group has followed its own path.

The authorities are continuing the investigation in connection with the attempted robbery in Velvendo. They are searching for two women who attended the hiding places of the "nuclei" as stated by witnesses. One of them was, along with the rest, at a hotel in Volos just before the attack in Velvendo. The woman was not involved in the attack but the police determine her help and support as "crucial".

This is the fifth case of a woman involved in the activities of the new generation of terrorists in recent months. A woman had taken part in the bank robbery in the village of Filotas near Florina in November 2012, another one had frequently visited the hiding place in Halandri, which the police found last week, and a woman had placed the bomb in "The Athens Mall". Witnesses say that the driver of the vehicle by which the participants in the attack on the headquarters of New Democracy fled was also a woman.

Members of the anti-terrorism forces have been investigating two hotel rooms in Volos as well, where six of the eight participants in the attempted robbery in Velvendo stayed on 30 and 31 January.

Sources say that the authorities have revealed the identity of another member of the group and are very close to revealing another one. In addition, they have found fingerprints and biological material in the hotel rooms and witnesses and security cameras of adjacent buildings have registered the actions of the "guests".

As is already clear, the six stayed in two triple rooms at a hotel in the centre of Volos, which Dimitris Politis had rented using the fake identity card bearing the name of Eleftherios Kalivas that the police had found on him. According to the reception staff, five men and one woman, all of nearly the same age, stayed at the hotel. The police believe that they had brought to the hotel the weapons, which they subsequently used during the robbery.

Indicative of the authorities’ concerns about a new terrorist attack is the statement of Minister of Citizen Protection Nikos Dendias. In an interview for the Sunday edition of "Imerisia" newspaper, he states that a terrorist attack against a political party is not excluded. In order to avoid such an attack, the police have increased the number of patrols and extended the working hours of policemen who cover Athens on motorcycles.

 

Tags: Crime newsTerroristsConspiracy of Fire NucleiWeaponsAttacks
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