Late Monday night security experts from Greece's Hellenic Police neutralized eight explosive packages and sent them to a forensics lab for further analysis. The Greek television station SKAI quoted authorities as having said that the task of finding fingerprints and DNA will take time.

Seven years of bailouts, but Greeks sink deeper into poverty Economic hardship A growing number of Greeks is barely making ends meet. After seven years of bailouts that poured billions of euros into their country, poverty is still an issue, worssening like nowhere else in the EU.

Seven years of bailouts, but Greeks sink deeper into poverty Three bailouts for Greece Above, people line up to apply for social benefits in Athens. The global financial crisis and its fallout forced four euro zone countries to turn to international lenders. Ireland, Portugal and Cyprus all went through rescue programs - and their economies are growing again. But Greece, the first to receive a bailout in 2010, has already needed three support lines.

Seven years of bailouts, but Greeks sink deeper into poverty Going through hard times Eva Agkisalaki, 61, a former teacher who volunteers in a soup kitchen run by the Orthodox church, did not qualify for a pension because her contract ended when the retirement age was lifted to 67 under the bailout program. Part of her husband's pension - cut to €600 ($634) from €980 as part of the reform package demanded by the international lenders - goes to her son and daughter's families.

Seven years of bailouts, but Greeks sink deeper into poverty Most Greeks "just exist" Eva receives handouts from the soup kitchen which she shares with her unemployed daughter and her son. "We're vegetating," she says between setting a long wooden table for the next meal of bean soup, bread, an egg, a slice of pizza and an apple. "We just exist. Most Greeks just exist."

Seven years of bailouts, but Greeks sink deeper into poverty No debt forgiveness An elderly man sells chestnuts in front of the parliament building in Athens during a demonstration demanding tax cuts. International creditors are urging tax hikes and pension cuts, but the government says the country has seen enough austerity.

Seven years of bailouts, but Greeks sink deeper into poverty Below the poverty line An elderly woman eyes donated clothes at a soup kitchen. Greece isn't the poorest member of the EU - poverty rates are higher in Bulgaria and Romania. But it ranks third, with Eurostat data showing 22.2 percent of the population were "severely materially deprived" in 2015.

Seven years of bailouts, but Greeks sink deeper into poverty Little hope for better days A man patiently waits to have his clothes washed by the Ithaca mobile laundry service. Volunteers drive a van across town with two washing machines and two dryers, offering their services ti the homeless. "You see the same faces, but also new ones," says Fanis Tsonas, co-founder of the mobile laundry as destitute men and women approach the van toting bags of laundry. Author: Nadine Berghausen



Authorities also confirmed that the packages were of the "same type" as two letter bombs recently mailed abroad: One was intercepted and destroyed in the mailroom of Germany's Ministry of Finance in Berlin last Wednesday, and the other one exploded at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Paris on Thursday, injuring a staff member. The Greek terror organization "Conspiracy of Fire Cells," which has made headlines with arson and bomb attacks since 2008, claimed responsibility for the parcel bombs.

The group had been considered defunct after 60 accused members and sympathizers were arrested over the last few years. However, as of late, violent acts carried out in the group's name have become more frequent.

Part of the 'Nemesis Plan'

In October 2016 the group placed a bomb in front of a judge's house, declaring the action the beginning of its "Nemesis Plan," which takes its name from the goddess of revenge in ancient Greek mythology. On Thursday, the group said the parcel bomb sent to the Ministry of Finance was part of "the second act of the Nemesis Plan." The underground group likely has more plans for similar attacks.

"We should wait for a letter claiming responsibility in order to gain more information about the group's approach and more about its potential targets," said Mary Bossi, a professor of international security at the University of Piraeus.

Greece is now the home of a new generation of violent terrorists emboldened by the desperation experienced by so many Greeks during the financial crisis. The movement is markedly different from the far-left terror group "Revolutionary Organization 17 November," which killed 23 people in Greece between 1975 and 2000 before being dismantled in 2001.

"Targeted persons at the time belonged to the so-called ruling class. But now underground organizations maintain that everyday citizens are also complicit – because they vote, sympathize with the state, do not agitate, and do not protest," terror expert Mary Bossi told DW.

Many Greeks face a daily struggle to make ends meet - terrorists profit from the despair of the people, says Bossi

Departure from Marxism-Leninism

Bossi is critical of the fact that many media outlets in Greece and abroad label the underground groups currently operating in Greece as "far-left extremists."

"These groups no longer have anything to do with Marxism-Leninism; in fact they have expressly distanced themselves from leftist ideology. Now they swear allegiance to anarchism."

However, she noted it is difficult to find any actual influences from anarchist theorists.

"Previous claims of responsibility exhibit rather superficial knowledge of such theories, suggesting that perpetrators do not really understand the ideological basis of anarchism, preferring populism instead. Ultimately anarchism has no roots in Greece, in contrast to Germany or France."

The terrorism expert points out that Greece's so-called "urban guerrillas" – to which the "Fire Cells" group belongs – are in close contact with like-minded groups in Europe, Russia and Latin America. But it is unclear whether the group received technical know-how from sympathizers abroad in the recent attacks. Bossi suspects that clues may eventually be found in upcoming letters claiming responsibility. The "Fire Cells" extended "cooperative greetings" to Chile in a statement issued Thursday, after the foiled Berlin attack.

Politicians in an awkward spot

Greece's Civil Protection Minister Nikos Toskas attempted to downplay the Berlin incident in his initial reaction. In a TV interview, he explained that there was very little explosive material in the package. He said that was why Greek authorities had failed to detect the package when it was sent, adding that this was also the reason that neither German nor French authorities had recognized the threat when the packages arrived.

It seems almost ridiculous that the sender listed on the Berlin package was none other than conservative Greek politician Adonis Georgiadis. A former health minister and a seller of patriotic books, he himself has often been the target of extremist attacks. His bookshop in north Athens has been repeatedly damaged by unidentified attackers, likely because of his earlier ties to the far-right populist scene. Ultimately, even Athens' ruling far-left Syriza party condemned the obvious misuse of Georgiadis' name in the attack.