Three improvised explosive devices detonated within minutes of one another early Wednesday morning in northern Thessaloniki, an attack senior officials say was aimed at members of Greece’s governing conservative party.
One of the devices injured New Democracy parliamentary candidate Afroditi Nestora, who sustained minor burns. Her mother later died in hospital from extensive burns, and her father was admitted with respiratory complications, police reported. The remaining two explosions caused no injuries.
“This inhumane, indiscriminate terrorist attack on my home has placed my family in an extremely difficult situation,” Nestora wrote on her Facebook page.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis condemned what he described as “the cowardly, terrorist, murderous attack that injured three of our members in the early hours.”
Police said each bomb, detonated around 4:30 a.m., comprised a gas canister attached to a container of flammable liquid. Greek authorities note that such devices are frequently employed by anarchist or far‑left armed groups for low‑intensity attacks intended as symbolic messages.
National police spokeswoman Constantina Dimoglidiou explained that the bomb injuring Ms. Nestora and her parents had been positioned beneath a vehicle; the blast ignited a fire that spread, causing the family to suffer burns. Two other residents of the same apartment complex were treated for respiratory distress and subsequently discharged, according to news reports.
The remaining two devices were positioned at the entrances of two apartment complexes, Dimoglidiou added. Savvas Anastasiadis, a former New Democracy legislator, resides in one complex, while Zisis Ioakeimovits, head of a local party committee, owns apartments in the other.
No group has claimed responsibility for the bombings, yet Prime Minister Mitsotakis and other senior officials warned that domestic terrorism may be resurging.
“They have learned nothing, not even from those who have been imprisoned for 25 years,” said Public Order Minister Michalis Chrysochoidis, apparently referencing the leftist November 17 organization, whose 82‑year‑old leader, Alexandros Giotopoulos, was returned to prison last month after a brief release.
Mitsotakis announced he would travel to Thessaloniki to visit the victims and deliver a clear, unequivocal message of zero tolerance for any new terrorism that might emerge in the country.
The bombings occurred amid heightened political rhetoric surrounding Greece’s upcoming general elections, scheduled for next year, although there is speculation that Prime Minister Mitsotakis may call an early vote.
