Ten “accidental” deaths and dozens of injuries are the tragic toll of hundreds of arson and bombing attacks that ended in tragedy. The dramatic incident in Thessaloniki in the early hours of last Wednesday, in which the 72-year-old mother of New Democracy political candidate Afroditi Nestora lost her life during one of the approximately 120 “routine” arson attacks recorded annually in Greece (this number was previously more than three times higher), is only one example of the dangers posed by such actions, which, for extremist groups—and at times even for the Hellenic Police—have become a routine practice carrying an enormous risk of human casualties.
These are attacks that are supposedly of a “symbolic” or even “experimental” nature. Their initial aim is to cause limited damage, with many of them passing almost unnoticed. Yet they conceal enormous dangers. Before the Charilaou tragedy there had been the deaths of a 15-year-old foreign national in Patissia, a 39-year-old employee on Syggrou Avenue, the murder of a civilian during a robbery on Paros, the injuries sustained by schoolchildren on a city bus on Vouliagmenis Avenue, and, of course, the tragedies of the Marfin bank fire and the death of Thanos Axarlian in Syntagma Square—resulting from failed arson attacks, improperly placed explosive devices, and even rocket launches.
Moreover, in at least 20 cases in recent years, small-scale arson attacks created situations in which dozens of people were at risk of losing their lives due to burns or respiratory problems. Although the perpetrators often proclaim that they do not intend to cause loss of life, the manner in which they carry out their attacks, together with the authorities’ frequent inability to solve many of these cases, increases the danger of “collateral casualties.”
The Charilaou tragedy
The evidence collected by the Counter-Terrorism Service regarding the Charilaou tragedy, following the triple arson attack carried out after midnight against the homes of New Democracy political candidates, is relatively clear. Three to four individuals participated in the attack, apparently belonging to a group of around 180 anarchists in Thessaloniki associated with two long-standing squats in the city and reportedly directed by two or three leading figures within that anarchist milieu.
The tragedy at the home of the New Democracy candidate occurred because the perpetrators placed the incendiary device—a liquefied petroleum gas cylinder together with a container of flammable material—next to the parked vehicles in the building’s open ground-floor parking area. In attacks of this kind, fires frequently spread due to vehicle fuel tanks and other flammable materials, while the resulting fumes increase the danger of residents becoming trapped.
Similar incidents endangering apartment building residents occurred in November 2023 in Kato Patissia, where the fire spread to four vehicles and reached the third floor, and in Sepolia in April of the same year, when four people, including a child, were taken to hospital after inhaling smoke. Comparable incidents were also recorded in September 2025 in Heraklion, Crete, and in March 2026 in Kalamaria, Thessaloniki, where fires spread into residential apartments.
However, many other arson attacks have likewise posed enormous risks to human life. One example was the attack in the early hours of 13 July 2022 on the Real Media publishing group in Marousi, when unknown individuals placed an improvised incendiary device and the fire spread rapidly from the stairwell to the upper floors, placing a sound engineer in immediate danger. She was taken to hospital suffering from respiratory problems caused by smoke inhalation.
A similar risk to human life arose in 2021 during the arson attack on the political office of then Independent Greeks MP Kostas Zouraris, located in an old apartment building in central Athens, as well as in a number of other cases.
In order to solve the fatal attack on Ms. Nestora’s residence, Hellenic Police officers are analyzing CCTV footage within a five-kilometer radius, examining DNA samples and fingerprints, and analyzing telephone communication data—a process made easier in this case because the attacks occurred between 4:00 and 5:00 a.m. Investigators are also examining the movements of key suspects, the times they were absent from their homes, which motorcycles were used, and other related evidence.
In addition, security officials are investigating information relating to organizations such as Incendiary Anarchist Mind, Anarchist Action Organization (previously Immediate Action Cells – Anarchist Action Organization), and Cell of Revolutionary Violence. The latter appears to be a collaboration between anti-authoritarian activists from Athens and Thessaloniki and is believed to be responsible for at least 40 arson attacks in Thessaloniki in recent years. Their targets have included the homes and offices of New Democracy MPs, senior judges, police officers, and NATO military personnel.
Arson attacks have also targeted the offices of a private clinic owner, a Turkish diplomat, a local tax office, supermarkets, and private companies. Security officials believe that, had a claim of responsibility been issued, these attacks would likely have been linked to the Alexandras Avenue refugee housing issue, the arrests of anti-authoritarian activists in connection with the Tithorea robbery, the deaths of anarchists in an explosion in Ampelokipi, Athens, and the arson attack outside a bank in Thessaloniki.
Thanos Axarlian
On 14 July 1992, members of the terrorist organization 17 November attempted to assassinate then Minister of Finance Ioannis Palaiokrassas by firing a rocket at his armored vehicle in central Athens. The rocket missed its target, struck a nearby building, and the explosion killed 20-year-old university student Thanos Axarlian, who happened to be passing by.
In its subsequent proclamation, the organization expressed “regret” over Axarlian’s death, claiming that he had not been its intended target. It should also be noted that during an attack in 1990 against the car of a businessman in Ekali, a rocket fired by 17 November became lodged in the balcony of a neighboring apartment building, and only by chance were there no casualties.
On the evening of 27 April 1999, the organization Revolutionary Cells, which was active at the time (and has never officially been dismantled), placed an explosive device outside a hotel on Syggrou Avenue where a conference was about to begin. The explosion killed 39-year-old Virginia Konstantinou, who worked for the company organizing the conference.
The organization claimed responsibility in a proclamation, blaming the employee’s death on the failure to evacuate the building promptly after a warning telephone call.
On 31 December 2014, Special Guard Charalampos Amanatidis was killed outside the residence of the British military attaché during an attempted theft of his weapon. No organization claimed responsibility for the police officer’s death, although there were suspicions regarding the involvement of an anti-authoritarian activist arrested in 2014.
On the evening of 28 March 2010, a powerful improvised explosive device was left outside the building of the Hellenic Management Association (EEDE) on Iakovaton Street in Patissia. The bomb exploded without warning, killing a 15-year-old Afghan boy and seriously injuring his 10-year-old sister and their mother.
This case also remains unsolved, despite the fact that investigators had intercepted conversations among anarchists arrested in 2010 referring to the placement of the bomb.
The Marfin arson attack
On 5 May 2010, during the large demonstration in Athens against austerity measures and the first bailout memorandum, a group of unidentified individuals attacked the Marfin Bank branch on Stadiou Street with Molotov cocktails while approximately 25 to 30 employees were inside.
Three employees died from asphyxiation caused by smoke and toxic fumes.
On 10 August 2012, in Naoussa on the island of Paros, four armed individuals from the anti-authoritarian movement robbed a bank branch. During their escape, 53-year-old taxi driver Dimitris Michas attempted to stop them.
One of the perpetrators repeatedly shot him, killing him instantly.
It should also be recalled that in November 1985 a bomb exploded inside a city bus on Vouliagmenis Avenue, injuring dozens of young passengers. The bomb, concealed inside a travel bag, had originally been placed outside a public building in Kolonaki. An unsuspecting foreign national of Iraqi origin picked it up to inspect it, boarded the city bus with it, and accidentally triggered the device.
