Parcel bomb kills Greek security minister's aide

A parcel bomb enveloped as a gift exploded last night inside the offices of the minister in charge of security in Greece, killing a senior aide who tried to open the box. The explosion was meters away from where the minister, Michalis Chrysohoidis, was sat at his desk on the seventh floor of the heavily-guarded building in Athens.

Giorgos Vassilakis, 52, leader of the minister's security team, died instantly when the device, thought to have been gift-wrapped as a box of sweets, went off in his hands. So strong was the blast that workers in the building thought it had been struck by an earthquake.

Visibly shaken, Chrysohoidis vowed the "cowardly murderers will be brought to justice".

The unprecedented assassination attempt had clearly been aimed at him, he said, since as minister he has sought to break down on the medley of domestic armed groups active in Greece. By late last night no group had claimed responsibility for the explosion.

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