Mail-bomb scare in Greece spreads to Germany

Asuspicious package personally addressed to the chancellor of Germany was sent from Greece and resembled a series of small mail bombs found in Athens, Germany's top security official says.

Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said the package, which arrived Tuesday midday at the mailroom of the Chancellor Angela Merkel's office, was sent from Greece two days earlier.

The package in Berlin came on the heels of a series of small mail bombs, two of which exploded outside the Russian and Swiss embassies in Athens, in attacks blamed on far-left domestic extremists.

Merkel's spokesman Steffen Seibert said the package intended for Merkel "would have been able to harm people" and had been disarmed by police.

Merkel was in Belgium when the package arrived in the mailroom of her office. Merkel's spokesman, Steffen Seibert, said that it showed "marks that indicated the possibility of explosives" and police were immediately alerted.

In Athens, Greek police blew uptwo suspicious packages found in the cargo terminal of Athens airport. Media reports, quotingpolice sources, said the packages contained explosive devices.

Other booby-trapped parcels sent to the embassies of Bulgaria, Germany and Chile in Athens were destroyed in separate controlled explosions.

The developments raised new questions about the security of cargo and parcels. People in the transportation industry said Tuesday that there are few security checks on packages transported within the European Union by road or rail.

"Once they're in Europe, the goods are free to move around," said Robert Windsor, manager of trade services at the British International Freight Association.

UPS said it was aware of reports it had delivered the suspicious package but could not confirm them.

"We're working closely with authorities to investigate," UPS spokesman Norman Black said by email. He said UPS transports packages in Europe by both ground and air.

If it turns out that one or more suspect packages has been transported by air, that would be troubling, a U.K.-based aviation security consultant said.

"If they have been flown, then it rather begs the question whether European freight air security is up to muster at all," said Chris Yates.

No injuries or damage were reported from the small explosions in Greece. No warning was given, and no one has claimed responsibility.

Police closed down sections of Athens where embassies are located, and they checked dozens of potential targets.

On Monday, four mail bombs failed to reach their targets French President Nicolas Sarkozy, along withthe embassies of Mexico, the Netherlands and Belgium.

The bombs Monday were found after a device addressed to the Mexican Embassy exploded at a delivery company in central Athens, wounding a worker at the company.

Authorities searched surrounding streets and arrested two suspects shortly after the blast, alleging they were carrying mail bombs addressed to Sarkozy and the Belgian Embassy, along with handguns and bullets in waist pouches. One wore body armour, a wig and a baseball cap.

Suspects' names released

Police late Tuesday named the suspects as 22-year-old Panagiotis Argyros, and 24-year-old Gerasimos Tsakalos.

Authorities have said the bombs were not particularly powerful, and no link was made with the recently discovered Yemen-based mail-bomb plot, which used bombs with much more potential to do damage.

One of the men was wanted in connection with an investigation into a radical anarchist group known as Conspiracy Nuclei of Fire, which has claimed responsibility for a spate of small bomb and arson attacks over the past two years.

The explosions Tuesday began with the detonation of a bomb in the courtyard outside a six-storey building that's home to the Swiss Embassy.

Swiss Foreign Ministry official Georg Farago said Athens Embassy employees regarded the package as suspicious after noticing "traces of metal" on it.

"The package burst into flames when the employees removed the external wrapping of the package. At the same moment, there was an explosion. No one was injured," Farago said.

Soon after, a courier heading for another embassy became suspicious about a package and stopped at parliament,where police on guard duty detonated a bomb.

Sharpleft-right divide in Greece

Much of the unrest follows froma sharp postwar divide between right and left, which led to a civil war and a seven-year military dictatorship. Although a student uprising succeeded in ending military rule in 1974, there are still tensions between Greece's security establishment and a phalanx of deeply entrenched leftist groups that often protest against globalization and U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East and elsewhere.

Although they caused minimal injuries and damage, the attacks in Greece were an embarrassment to a government which had hoped militant attacks were on the wane after a string of arrests earlier this year.

"The government condemns in the strongest possible way those who try in vain to terrorize and disturb the public tranquility," government spokesman George Petalotis said. "The police's reaction was excellent, resulting in the arrest of two suspects, and their work will continue in a vigorous manner."

Police believe the parcels that went off Tuesday were posted the day before. All embassies were given extra police security.

Parliament Speaker Philippos Petsalnikos also condemned what he called "wretched actions."

"No one can terrorize democracy," he said.