A letter bomb exploded inside the car of former Greek prime minister Lucas Papademos in central Athens on Thursday, wounding him and two Bank of Greece employees, officials said.
All three were described as being conscious and hospitalized in a stable condition.
“I unequivocally condemn the attack against Lucas Papademos,” Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras tweeted from his official account. “I wish a speedy recovery to him and the people who accompanied him.”
Police were on alert to determine whether any other parcel bombs might have been sent out, and were checking postal and courier services.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, but Greek politicians have been targeted in the past by militant and anarchist groups.
Papademos, 69, who served as prime minister for six months in 2011 and 2012, and is also a former deputy governor of the European Central Bank, had been inside his car when the device detonated.
Police had not officially confirmed reports that the blast was caused by a parcel bomb containing a small amount of explosives.
However, a police official, speaking on condition of anonymity because an official announcement had not yet been made, said the explosion occurred when Papademos opened an envelope inside the car.
Antiterrorism police were at the hospital where Papademos was being treated to interview him on the details of the envelope.
Another police official said one of the other two wounded in the blast told antiterrorism police that he had handed Papademos the mail earlier and that before doing so he had put it through an X-ray machine, but that nothing suspicious had shown up.
The police official, who also spoke on condition of anonymity because no official announcement had been made, said the injured man said a book had been among the mail and authorities were investigating whether the explosive device could have been inside that package.
Police said Papademos’ police escort had been in a car behind the former prime minister’s vehicle and that the other two wounded were Bank of Greece employees.
Authorities cordoned off the area and forensics experts were investigating the scene for evidence.
The former prime minister’s car was parked by the side of the road, in front of its escort vehicle. The car bore little sign of damage, except for buckling on two doors.
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