Athens, January 24, 2019
Photo: channelnewsasia.com A previously unheard of anarchist group calling itself the Iconoclastic Sect has claimed responsibility for the minor explosion that injured two outside an Orthodox church in Athens last month.
In a statement entitled “Maldicion Eco-extremista” (eco-extremist curse) posted on a Spanish website, the group claims to be part of a federation of eco-extremists, reports ekathimerini.
A small explosive device went off outside the Church of St. Dionysios in the Kolonaki neighborhood of Athens shortly before the Divine Liturgy was scheduled to begin on December 27, leaving the church caretaker and a police officer with minor injuries.
The group writes that the aim of the explosion was to cause the “greatest possible damage to a priest and/or to the herd of the faithful.” The explosion was meant to be bigger. “We received our lesson for next time,” the group writes.
The post also said that the attack was aimed not only against the Church of Greece but society as a whole, reports the National Herald.
According to the post, the group was formed a year ago and was responsible for three acts of arson before the church explosion, and more violence is in the works. “Our hands will not tremble when the time comes to spill blood, we won’t show mercy or sensitivity towards our enemies,” the group wrote, Reuters reports.
A source close to the investigation told Reuters that the group’s claim is being taken seriously.
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