Far-left group claims responsibility for December attack on Israeli Embassy in Athens

Unidentified assailants opened fire on the Israeli embassy in Athens with a Kalashnikov assault rifle in the early hours of Dec. 12. No injuries were reported.

Bullets holes are seen of the wall of the Israeli embassy in Athens December 12, 201 (photo credit: REUTERS)
Bullets holes are seen of the wall of the Israeli embassy in Athens December 12, 201
(photo credit: REUTERS)
A far-left Greek group has claimed responsibility for a shooting attack on the Israeli Embassy in Athens in December, Greek police said on Wednesday, according to a New York Times report. 
Greek police received a phone call early Sunday morning by a newspaper staffer who received an anonymous tip informing him about the location of a portable digital device hidden in a trash can, which contained a 19 page statement by the far-left Group of Popular Rebels.
Unidentified assailants opened fire on the Israeli embassy in Athens with a Kalashnikov assault rifle in the early hours of Dec. 12. No injuries were reported.
Four people on two motorcycles fired shots at the embassy building in a northern suburb of Athens, according to a police official . Bullets were lodged in the walls and 54 spent bullet cases were found about 40 meters (yards) from the building, police said.
According to the report, the bullet casings found outside the Israeli Embassy matched the two assault rifles used in a similar attack in December 2013 on the German ambassador's home - also in the suburbs of Athens - for which the Group of Popular Rebels claimed responsibility.
In December, the UN Security Council and the Greek government condemned the attack on the Israel Embassy, which the latter believed in December was an attack by a far-left group, the AFP reported.
In December, the Israeli government placed the blame for the attack on incitement by the Palestinian Authority and pro-Palestinian organizations around the world continuously engaging in anti-Israel incitement.
“The international community must condemn this continuing incitement which leads to these results,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nachshon at the time.
 
Reuters contributed to this report

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