Bomb damages tax office in Athens, no injuries

A homemade bomb exploded outside a Greek government taxation office in Athens on Friday, damaging nearby buildings but causing no injuries, police said.

"The explosive device went off around 0230 GMT, shattering glass at nearby buildings. There was a warning call to police a few minutes earlier but no claim of responsibility," a police official said on condition of anonymity.

Greece's anti-terrorist squad investigating the blast found pieces of a table clock and believes the explosive material used was common dynamite but more will be known after lab tests, the police official said.

There has been a string of bombing attacks against domestic and foreign businesses in Greece since widespread rioting in December last year, sparked by the police killing of a teenager.

In a separate incident later on Friday, attackers threw gas canisters at the entrance of the Institute of Immigration Policy in central Athens, causing damages but no injuries, police said.