A powerful bomb exploded in front of an institute for training public officials in the west of Athens late Sunday, killing a 15-year-old Afghan boy and injuring his sister and their mother.
Police said the boy was killed on the spot while his 10-year-old sister was seriously wounded and their mother escaped with slight injuries.
The girl was rushed to a nearby hospital in critical condition after the bomb placed in a bag went off without warning in the city's Patissia district at 10:50 pm (1950 GMT).
A police statement said the family went to the district every evening to rummage through the rubbish bins. "Probably the boy discovered and opened the bag with the bomb," it added.
Greek anti-terrorism police cordoned off the area for several hours.
Minister for the Protection of the Citizen Michalis Chryssohoides lashed out at the "repugnant terrorist act" and promised that "the guilty parties will be arrested and brought to justice."
He went on: "A young man has died in a mortal trap set by terrorists. The assassins consider us all as enemies, whether one is a policeman, an immigrant or just another citizen."
Attacks on public buildings and businesses are relatively frequent in Athens and the northern city of Salonika, but rarely injure anyone as there are usually warning calls that allow police to clear the area.
The last attack to have injured anyone was in October 2009, when six police officers were wounded in a machine gun attack on a police station.
Greece has been rocked by a string of attacks against economic interests and offices of politicians since a youth was killed by a police officer in December 2008.
A Greek extremist group last Monday claimed responsibility for three bomb attacks over the weekend that caused damage to the offices of a neo-Nazi movement, the home of a Pakistani and migration offices.
The group, the Conspiracy of the Cells of Fire, said in a message posted on the left-leaning Indymedia website the attacks were a contribution to the ongoing debate in the country on immigration.
It said Greece, which has become a major entry point for clandestine migrants, was an "off-putting example" of exploitation and lack of assistance.
While denouncing widespread "racism", Conspiracy also said the Pakistani targeted was cooperating with Greek authorities.
The Pakistani community in Greece numbers several thousand members, most of whom live in the greater Athens area.
Muslim migrants in Greece have faced increasing hostility from far-right militants, and the Pakistani community has frequently denounced attacks on its members by Greek youths.
Last month a gang of mostly teenagers set fire to a house in Sparta, southern Greece as a group of Bangladeshi migrants slept inside.
In May last year, five Bangladeshi migrants were injured after unknown assailants tried to burn down a makeshift mosque in Athens.
Conspiracy of the Cells of Fire last claimed responsibility for a bomb attack outside the Greek parliament on January 9.
Eight Conspiracy members have been arrested since police uncovered a cache used by the group in an Athens suburb in September last year.
The group is suspected of having carried out a string of bomb and firebomb attacks in Athens and the northern city of Thessaloniki since 2008, but no life was lost.
Another group, Revolutionary Struggle (EA), has been active for the last six years and is blacklisted by the European Union as a terrorist organisation.
EA claimed an attack on the Athens stock exchange in September which caused no injuries.
The socialist government that has been in power since October has given priority to the fight against extremism. Eight alleged members of Conspiracy of the Cells of Fire have been arrested in the past few months, with three of them held in custody.
AFP - A powerful bomb exploded in front of an institute for training public officials in the west of Athens late Sunday, killing a 15-year-old Afghan boy and injuring his sister and their mother.
Police said the boy was killed on the spot while his 10-year-old sister was seriously wounded and their mother escaped with slight injuries.
The girl was rushed to a nearby hospital in critical condition after the bomb placed in a bag went off without warning in the city's Patissia district at 10:50 pm (1950 GMT).
A police statement said the family went to the district every evening to rummage through the rubbish bins. "Probably the boy discovered and opened the bag with the bomb," it added.
Greek anti-terrorism police cordoned off the area for several hours.
Minister for the Protection of the Citizen Michalis Chryssohoides lashed out at the "repugnant terrorist act" and promised that "the guilty parties will be arrested and brought to justice."
He went on: "A young man has died in a mortal trap set by terrorists. The assassins consider us all as enemies, whether one is a policeman, an immigrant or just another citizen."
Attacks on public buildings and businesses are relatively frequent in Athens and the northern city of Salonika, but rarely injure anyone as there are usually warning calls that allow police to clear the area.
The last attack to have injured anyone was in October 2009, when six police officers were wounded in a machine gun attack on a police station.
Greece has been rocked by a string of attacks against economic interests and offices of politicians since a youth was killed by a police officer in December 2008.
A Greek extremist group last Monday claimed responsibility for three bomb attacks over the weekend that caused damage to the offices of a neo-Nazi movement, the home of a Pakistani and migration offices.
The group, the Conspiracy of the Cells of Fire, said in a message posted on the left-leaning Indymedia website the attacks were a contribution to the ongoing debate in the country on immigration.
It said Greece, which has become a major entry point for clandestine migrants, was an "off-putting example" of exploitation and lack of assistance.
While denouncing widespread "racism", Conspiracy also said the Pakistani targeted was cooperating with Greek authorities.
The Pakistani community in Greece numbers several thousand members, most of whom live in the greater Athens area.
Muslim migrants in Greece have faced increasing hostility from far-right militants, and the Pakistani community has frequently denounced attacks on its members by Greek youths.
Last month a gang of mostly teenagers set fire to a house in Sparta, southern Greece as a group of Bangladeshi migrants slept inside.
In May last year, five Bangladeshi migrants were injured after unknown assailants tried to burn down a makeshift mosque in Athens.
Conspiracy of the Cells of Fire last claimed responsibility for a bomb attack outside the Greek parliament on January 9.
Eight Conspiracy members have been arrested since police uncovered a cache used by the group in an Athens suburb in September last year.
The group is suspected of having carried out a string of bomb and firebomb attacks in Athens and the northern city of Thessaloniki since 2008, but no life was lost.
Another group, Revolutionary Struggle (EA), has been active for the last six years and is blacklisted by the European Union as a terrorist organisation.
EA claimed an attack on the Athens stock exchange in September which caused no injuries.
The socialist government that has been in power since October has given priority to the fight against extremism. Eight alleged members of Conspiracy of the Cells of Fire have been arrested in the past few months, with three of them held in custody.
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