A Greek cabinet minister has had a narrow escape after a bomb exploded outside his office in Athens, killing one of his closest aides.
Police direct traffic after the bomb attack on the government building
in Athens
The Civil Protection Minister Mihalis Chrysohoidis was in the building when a booby-trapped package exploded on the seventh floor.
It caused serious damage to the Greek Ministry for Public Order but there were no reports of further injuries.
Mr Chrysohoidis told reporters he had lost a "valuable and dear colleague" in George Vassilakis, who had two children.
Police said Mr Vassilakis had been trying to open the package when it exploded in his hands.
Greece has been rocked by a series of bomb attacks claimed by leftist militants since its worst riots in decades in 2008.
Earlier this year, Greece arrested six suspected members of the country's most militant group, Revolutionary Struggle.
When he took office in 2009, Mr Chrysohoidis said that he would crack down on militants.
He previously dismantled Greece's most lethal guerrilla group.
Three people died in a petrol bomb attack on a Greek bank during an anti-austerity demonstration in May.
In March, a 15-year old boy was killed and his mother and sister injured after a bomb exploded outside a building in central Athens.
Police direct traffic after the bomb attack on the government building
in Athens
The Civil Protection Minister Mihalis Chrysohoidis was in the building when a booby-trapped package exploded on the seventh floor.
It caused serious damage to the Greek Ministry for Public Order but there were no reports of further injuries.
Mr Chrysohoidis told reporters he had lost a "valuable and dear colleague" in George Vassilakis, who had two children.
Police said Mr Vassilakis had been trying to open the package when it exploded in his hands.
Greece has been rocked by a series of bomb attacks claimed by leftist militants since its worst riots in decades in 2008.
Earlier this year, Greece arrested six suspected members of the country's most militant group, Revolutionary Struggle.
When he took office in 2009, Mr Chrysohoidis said that he would crack down on militants.
He previously dismantled Greece's most lethal guerrilla group.
Three people died in a petrol bomb attack on a Greek bank during an anti-austerity demonstration in May.
In March, a 15-year old boy was killed and his mother and sister injured after a bomb exploded outside a building in central Athens.