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The predawn bombings in the northern city of Thessaloniki on
July 1 targeted the homes of members of Greece’s governing
conservative New Democracy party. The 72-year-old mother of
parliamentary candidate Afroditi Nestora was killed after a
crude bomb made with camping gas canisters exploded under
Nestora’s car, which was parked at the entrance of her apartment
building.
Nestora herself suffered burns and remains hospitalized, but
briefly left hospital Thursday to attend her mother’s funeral.
Her father and two residents of the building were also injured.
Two attacks on the same night targeting other New Democracy
party members caused damage but no injuries.
Greece has a long history of politically motivated violence
dating back to the 1970s, with domestic extremist groups
carrying out small-scale bombings, usually targeting symbols of
power or the property of politicians, police or other authority
figures. Many use crude explosive devices, often made with
camping gas canisters, mostly causing material damage but no
injuries.
While the groups most active in the 1980s and 1990s have been
dismantled, new groups have emerged.
Police said Friday they arrested a 29-year-old man in the
northern city of Thessaloniki and a 26-year-old woman on the
southern island of Crete on suspicion of involvement in the
bombing at Nestora’s home, as well as one other man suspected of
hiding the two in his apartment before and after the attack.
Police said the search for others potentially involved in the
series of attacks continued.
In May 2025, a woman in Thessaloniki was killed when a bomb she
was carrying exploded in her hands. Authorities said the
38-year-old had intended to plant the bomb outside a bank. Two
months later, a bomb exploded outside the Thessaloniki home of
the president of Greece’s association of prison guards. He was
unharmed but two other people suffered minor injuries from
shattered glass.
In April last year, a bomb planted near the offices of Greece's
main railway company exploded in a busy district of central
Athens, causing damage but no injuries. The bombing came amid
widespread public anger over a 2023 railway disaster that killed
57 people. A new extremist group claimed responsibility for that
attack.
In June 2024, a police officer guarding the home of a top judge
in Athens was injured in a gasoline bomb attack.
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