Greek leftist group claims Thessaloniki bomb attack

ATHENS (Reuters) - A leftist guerrilla group claimed responsibility on Sunday for a bomb explosion at a government building in northern Greece this week.

The Fire Conspiracy Cells said in a statement they were behind the blast at a ministry in Thessaloniki on Wednesday. The explosion caused minor damage and no injuries.

At the same time in Athens, a bomb planted in a car blew up outside the Athens stock exchange, damaging the building extensively and hurting one woman. No group has claimed responsibility for this attack.

"Early on Wednesday, we planted two time-bombs -- made of eight kilos of explosive material -- behind the ministry of Macedonia-Thrace," the group said.

"We warned police about the explosion to prevent any injuries."

Greece has been rocked by a wave of violence since the police shooting of a teenager in December provoked the country's worst riots in decades, fuelled by anger at youth unemployment and government economic policy during the global slowdown.

Leftist and anarchist guerrilla groups have claimed several attacks on businesses, cars and police this year.

In July, the Fire Conspiracy Cells said they were behind a bomb attack at the home of a former deputy police minister. The group had earlier claimed responsibility for two time-bombs that exploded at police stations under construction.