Six Athens policemen injured by gunmen

AFP - Six Greek police officers were shot and wounded Tuesday, two of them seriously, in an attack against a police post in a northern suburb of the capital Athens, police said.

Three unidentified attackers opened fire on the Aghia Paraskevi post with an automatic weapon and escaped on two high-powered motorcycles.

The wounded officers, one of whom was a woman, were admitted to Athens hospitals.

One suffered bullet wounds to the chest, another to the stomach and four others to the shoulder and legs.

President Carolos Papoulias condemned what he called "the cowardly terrorist attack" and expressed his sympathy for the victims.

Minister for the Protection of Citizens Michalis Chryssohoidis, who along with Health Minister Mariliza Xenoyannokopoulou visited the wounded officers, called the attack "one hundred percent terrorist."

Promising that society "will not let itself be terrorised," he appealed to the people to help the police arrest those responsible.

Around 50 bullet casings were recovered from the scene of the attack, and police said they suspected either a Kalashnikov-style assault rifle or a Skorpio submachine gun had been used.

There was no claim of responsibility, although similar attacks have been carried out in the past by two extremist groups.

They are the extreme-left group Revolutionary Struggle, which has been active since 2003 and is listed by the European Union and United States as a terrorist organisation, and the Revolutionary Sect, which appeared early this year.

Leftist extremists have launched a number of attacks on police targets since riots last December triggered by the fatal shooting of a 15-year-old youth.