U.S. Embassy Damage in Greek Blast Scant

Jan 12, 12:55 PM (ET)

By NICHOLAS PAPHITIS

ATHENS, Greece (AP) - A rocket struck the U.S. Embassy early Friday, exploding inside the modern, glass-fronted building and shattering hopes that Greece's leftist anti-American militant networks had been dismantled. Greek authorities said the attack, which caused no injuries, was probably carried out by a domestic terrorist group.

The small anti-tank missile, fired from across a six-lane boulevard, narrowly missed the large blue-and-white U.S. seal on the embassy's facade and the ambassador's office, and pierced the building above the front entrance shortly before 6 a.m. It damaged a third-floor bathroom and shattered windows in nearby buildings.

"There were no injuries and very minimal damage," U.S. Ambassador Charles Ries said outside the embassy.

The attack recalled the anti-capitalist and anti-American violence of past decades, which included the death of a CIA station chief and other American military and embassy officials, as well as a failed bomb attack against the U.S. Embassy in 1996.

New militant groups vehemently oppose the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq, amid widespread public opposition to Washington's policies which has remained strong since the United States provided support for a 1967-74 military dictatorship.

"It is very likely that this is the work of a domestic group," Public Order Minister Vyron Polydoras said. "We believe this effort to revive terrorism is deplorable and will not succeed."

He speculated that "this could be (guided) by the first generation of terrorists."

The 2.36-inch rocket, which police said was a weapon probably fired from a Russian-made launcher, struck a large marble beam on the third floor of the embassy, just above and to the left of the seal.

U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the United States was "not aware" of any indications that international terrorists had a role in the attack, but cautioned that the investigation was in its early stages. ...
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