Five wounded in firebombings of homes linked to Greek governing party

ATHENS, July 1 - Attackers firebombed three residential buildings linked to Greece's governing party in the northern city of Thessaloniki before dawn on Wednesday, wounding five people including a candidate for parliament, police said.

The parliamentary candidate from the governing centre-right New Democracy party and her mother both suffered burns, a police official said.

The unknown assailants left gas canisters that had been set on fire outside the three buildings during the hour before 5:00 a.m. The first two attacks led to blasts that caused only material damage, while the third wounded five people and damaged two cars and two motorcycles, one of the officials said.

Two of the targeted buildings included apartments housing New Democracy figures, while the third was owned by a local politician from the party.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attacks. Greece has a decades-long history of bomb and arson attacks on politicians, although in recent years such incidents have tended to cause only material damage.

New Democracy and government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis condemned Wednesday's attacks and said the government was determined to crack down on such violence. REUTERS