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© George Panagakis/Pacific/BIA protest outside the Greek parliament over austerity measures brought in by the goverment to secure bailout funding.
Explosion in Athens followed telephone warning and comes as government re-enters bond markets after debt crisis

A car bomb went off outside a Bank of Greece building in central Athens early on Thursday, smashing windows in nearby shops but causing no injuries, police and witnesses said.

The blast happened hours before Greece planned its first foray into the international bond markets since it plunged into a debt crisis four years ago, and a day before a visit by the German chancellor, Angela Merkel.

An anonymous caller warned a newspaper of the attack about 45 minutes ahead of the explosion, which took place just before 6am. The caller said the car contained about 70kg (155lb) of explosives, said a police official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility but police believed leftist or anarchist groups were behind it, the official said. Witnessess saw debris strewn across the street in a busy part of the capital lined with banks, shops and a mall.

Makeshift bombings and arson attacks have escalated since Greece adopted unpopular austerity measures in exchange for multibillion euro bailouts by the European Union and International Monetary Fund in 2010.

Small-scale attacks against politicians, journalists and businesspeople are frequent in Greece, which has a long history of political violence.

Source: Reuters